Crossbreeds
by Alix Mason
Summary: This is a story that I started writing on my own. It really isn't modeled after any one book but is more of a combination of a few. It is posted on a few other websites as well such as but it is posted as Aurora's Story, not Crossbreeds.
1. The Beginning

"You won't win," I promised. "I won't let you win."

"So sure of yourself, aren't you?" she asked me.

"You seem to be a little overconfident yourself, Emily," I pointed out.

"That's because you have no idea what I have in store for you, Aurora. If you had any idea what was coming for you, you wouldn't be so sure of your victory."

"You surprise me sometimes, Emily. Did you know that? What happened to our friendship, huh? We used to be best friends. Then I come here and you turn on me like the friendship never existed.

Why?" I asked.

She laughed.

"I turned on you when you came because they were about to make me official leader of the pack. Then you came and ruined it all. You are next in line for the throne. Everyone thought that you had died along with everyone else in the Vydia bloodline. But then you showed up and they decided to make you leader. You ruined my life, Aurora. You ruined everything that I had worked so hard to achieve here. Can you see, now, why that would make me hate you?"

"Yes, I can. But just because I came and took over what was rightfully mine is no reason for you to try to kill me. If you and I had been in each other's positions, I wouldn't have tried to kill you. Emily, we've been friends since the beginning of time, practically. How could one little thing change what you think of me? How could one little even make you want to kill me?"

"Because, Aurora, when we were little, you were always the one who stayed behind and was little miss shy-girl. You always stayed back to make sure that the coast would stay clear when we went on our little adventures. And while you were off playing with the other kids, I was by myself working on plans for our next adventure. But eventually, you started getting all the attention and what did I get? Nothing. Everyone ignored me. No one gave me the credit that I deserved. All that anger built up to the point where the one thing I wanted more than anything else was for you to be destroyed. So when I first came here and they made me leader, I realized that I had the power to control one of the largest werewolf armies. I started making plans to get you here. And after that, I made plans on how to kill you once I got you here. But somehow they all failed. They all failed, Aurora!"

"But that's not my fault, Emily. You know, I had been thinking about letting you be the beta wolf in the pack when I was to be announced as leader," I told her.

She got a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. I had been. But you pushed it a little too far, Emily. I have no choice now in what I must do for your punishment. I'm sorry, Emily," I said, and went to finish the job.


	2. Chapter 1

It was 9:45 pm. I was in my bedroom reading with my book light when I heard a noise coming from outside my door. It wasn't very close but it wasn't very far away either. My parents were in their bedroom with the door closed and locked and my little sister was next door sound asleep. It couldn't have been one of them. My room was on the second floor of the house and the sound seemed to emanating from the stairs.

The sound, I realized, was the sound of footsteps coming up the staircase. From the sound of them, they were pretty close to the top. When they reached the top, they seemed to be approaching my door. By this time, I was beyond being scared. I was _way _beyond being frightened. I was terrified beyond belief.

The footsteps came to a halt right outside my door. The knob started to turn. I was prepared to scream, if needed, but I didn't want to put my family or myself in any more danger than necessary. The door opened and it took all the self-control I had to suppress a scream. I surrounded myself with the many blankets strewn across my bed; as if they could protect me from a sword or a bullet.

When I eventually looked up toward the door I saw the intruder. Our eyes met but only for a second. And it seemed to drag on forever. More than long enough for me to conclude that this being was not human. His emerald-green eyes sparkled like gems, though no visible light was there to make them shine. His chalky white skin was clearly seen in my dark bedroom and his seemed to glow a dark blood-red. This being or whatever it was, seemed impossibly familiar, but as for where or when I had seen him, escaped me as if wanting to remain a mystery.

I shuddered, as the room seemed to have gotten cooler. The temperature, by the feel of it, seemed to have dropped to somewhere around twenty or thirty degrees. I had a feeling that the temperature drop had nothing to do with a window being open because my window was to stay closed at night. I was starting to shudder so I, very slowly, reached over to curl up in some more of my blankets.

Now, I have read enough books and done enough research to know what this guy was. He was one of the most feared creatures in the world. He was a vampire and I knew that if I didn't do something, and fast, someone could get hurt, or worse, killed. I did not want that 'someone' to be me.

I waited for him to make the first move. The wait seemed to drag on and on forever as he lingered in the doorway silhouetted in the darkness. From my nest of blankets, I chanced another look at him, only to find him staring at me. He looked back at me unblinkingly. His emerald eyes were entrancing yet terrifying at the same time yet I couldn't tear my eyes away.

If there had been a hint of anything sinister in his face, it was gone now. A warm smile spread slowly across his snow-white face. A new light flooded into his emerald eyes.

His blood-red lips, now curved into a smile, showed off his sharp, unnaturally white teeth. I stared on, my eyes glancing back and forth between his eyes and his teeth as he started to walk toward my bed, his eyes now locked on mine again. The only things that I was aware of at the moment were my racing heartbeat, him walking towards me, and his sharp teeth.

Each step he took brought him one step closer to me. Each breath brought more fear upon me. Each second brought me closer and closer to discovering what Fate had in store for me.

The whole time he walked, his eyes stayed focused on mine. His stare was unavoidable. Time slowed to a snail's pace as his eyes seemed to take on a whole other shade of green. His was face expressionless, now intimidating, and as pale as ever all at the same time. Now he was at my bed, staring at me with a growing sense of fear and worry now spread across his otherwise blank face. I must have had my emotions displayed clearly across my face because, in the blink 

of an eye, his expression had changed from fearful and worried to kind and caring, a warm smile spreading across his face.

"Don't worry. No harm will come to you or your family if you just come with me for a little while. If you don't cooperate with me, the consequences could and will be very severe for both of us."

I must admit, this did intimidate me a little. I was tempted to rebel against his demand, but I knew better than to disobey a being that could snap my neck in two seconds.

"Where are you going to take me?" I asked him.

"Some place that only my kind knows of. I cannot tell you. You will have to figure that out on your own.

I wanted so badly to let him know that I knew about every little thing that he was talking about but I was afraid of getting myself into even more trouble. I had a knack for doing that. But I just had to tell him before I burst into a million pieces. So when I had summed up enough courage to tell him, for fear of losing everything I just blurted it out.

"I know what you are!" I just about screamed. I wasn't thinking straight tonight because a look of fear crossed his face, followed by a look of calmness.

"What am I, then?" He seemed very calm, almost unnaturally calm.

All of the courage had disappeared from me now so when I spoke it came out in a stutter.

"Y-y-you-u a-are a-a v-v-vampire," I said. His face stayed calm. The only thing he did was straighten himself up to stand to his full height. I continued. "I know all about your kind." I was talking a lot clearer now. "I have read numerous books about them as well as you. Your name is Eric and you have been a teenager for almost 100 years now. The place you speak of is called The Fae, one of the darkest places in the Milky Way galaxy. Only able to be reached by flight, The Fae is invisible to humans unless accompanied by a vampire."

"I see you've done your fair share of reading and research. The only question I have for you is this. How do you know my name?"

"When I was ten years old, my father and I happened to pass you in the street. My father, Lord Legon, knew you so he and you started to talk. I was introduced to you."

A look of utter surprise spread across his face. "Miss Aurora?"

"It's Shadow now."

"Sorry. Shadow, then."

"Yes. Took you long enough to figure that out. I knew who you were the second you started talking to me."

"Keen memory you've got there, Shadow," he said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Thank you. I will take that as a compliment," I said with the same amount of sarcasm.

"That was a compliment and you're welcome."

"So, would you like to tell me exactly what you are doing here?"

"We don't have time for me to explain at the moment," he said hurriedly, glancing at the clock. "But we will have time for me to explain on the flight over."

"How are we supposed to fly?"

"I have wings. We _fly_."

"You have wings?"

"Yep, we do."

"And you can fly?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

"We might want to get going now."

"Cool."

"Okay, then."

"Um, how am I supposed to fly?"

"Like this. Turn around."

I turned around to face the wall so my back was turned to him. I felt him place his fingers on my back and trace swirls and curls all over my back, starting at the middle of my spine. Numerous shapes seemed to have been drawn. I couldn't recognize half of them. The intricate design seemed to go down my back to my waist, then back up, around my shoulder blades, and then up my neck. When he was finished, he pushed my hair to one side, and laid his hands over my shoulder blades. A wave of cold rushed throughout my body encasing me in an icy grip. When I was released from the cold grasp, everything went dark. Then, a bright flash of light appeared in my room, emanating from my back. The designs were glowing, and bright, too. Then more marks, swirls, curls, lines and various other shapes seemed to crawl up my arms and down my legs. They all glowed bright enough for me to see almost every detail of my room casting frightening shadows on the walls.

"Get up and stand facing the northwest corner of your room."

He ran over to my door and shut it while I hurried to do as he said.

"Now, you may feel some pain, but just remember this: the pain was five times worse for me."

I stood there and waited for the pain to kick in.

"Whatever you do, don't scream."

Then, suddenly, the pain came in my shoulder blades just like he had said. It spread through my whole body flowing through the strange markings, and then branched out encasing my whole body. It took all of my self-control to keep from screaming. But the pain disappeared just as soon as it had come, all recoiling back to my shoulder blades.

When all was quiet and all the pain was gone, I opened my eyes, which I had squeezed shut due to the pain, to find myself holding my arms across my chest and almost doubled over.

"Very good," he stated.

"What just happened?" I asked, turning to face him. But as I did so, I felt my body brush up against something that had to be out of my reach. I still had my arms tucked in against my body, so my hands had nothing to do with it. Very slowly, and carefully, I turned my head to look to my left.

There, stretched out to the very corner of my bedroom, was a beautiful deep purple wing. The same had happened to my right.

"What did you do?"

"Later, there isn't time. Now, let's go."

"But I don't know how to fly! And how am I supposed to get through the door?"

"Pull them in."

I tried that out and, to my surprise, the wings that now belonged to me came in. I pulled them in all the way to my body until they were tucked in tightly against my body.

"Where are we going to?" I asked.

"Follow me," he replied.

I followed him to the fire escape right outside my window that led to the roof. Keeping my wings carefully tucked in, I followed him up the ladder. Naturally, he was at the roof before me. When I reached the top, he snapped out his wings to their full length.

They were amazing; emerald green like his eyes and at least twice as long as mine. I unfolded my own violet wings as fast as I could. It hurt, too, and I winced. After the pain had subsided, I tried moving them a little and got myself a good two or three feet off the ground.

"Okay, enough playing around. Are you ready to try them out for real?"

"Sure. I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

"No, not really. It would be a lie to say otherwise."

"I didn't think there was one."

He grabbed my wrist and pulled my around so that we faced each other.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I answered with a tone of suspicion in my voice.

"If I told you to jump off of this building, would you trust me not to let anything happen to you?"

I nodded my head yes.

"Good. Ok. Now when I tell you to, I want you to run to the edge of the roof and jump. When you're about half way down you have to whip out your wings as fast as you can. It may hurt, but not much worse than what you felt when you did it just now. It will hurt the first one or two times you do that, but after that, it shouldn't hurt that bad.

I nodded my head to show that I understood.

"Now pull in your wings."

I did as he said without looking away. It was easier now to pull them in. It took almost no thought.

"I will show you what to do. Don't do anything until I tell you to which means stay right here."

I nodded again and kept my eyes on him so as not to miss anything important.

He walked a little farther back to give himself a little more room to run, to pick up some speed. He stared at the large expanse of ground that lay in front of him. He got down into a sprinting position, looked straight ahead, and ran. It was almost too fast to see, but not impossible. When he reached the edge, he jumped off the edge. A few seconds later he came soaring up from the space between the buildings on his emerald wings. They shone in the early morning light like diamonds in the moonlight. He landed lightly on his feet not three feet in front of me and let his wings droop as he walked towards me.

"Ready?"

I was extremely scared but I didn't really have a choice in the matter.

"No, but I don't have a choice so, I guess, yes."

"Well, we don't have time for mess-ups, so before you go, do you have any questions? No questions at all? Good."

He gave me no time to answer. Oh well. I didn't have any anyway.

"One…."

I walked a little farther back than he had so as to pick up a little more momentum.

"Two…."

I got down into a sprinting position, and faced forward.

"Go!"

I ran as fast as I could knowing that, now, there was no turning back.

When I reached the edge of the roof, I pushed off and jumped. It felt like flying, really. But I knew that I was falling, not flying. I whipped out my wings when I was about ten feet from the ground, maybe a little more. But the only thing I was conscious of now was the splitting pain 

that shot through my back causing me to scream. As soon as I realized that I had screamed, I cupped my hand over my mouth and hovered in the ally to make sure that no one had heard me. All was still so I flew up towards the top of the roof. Each beat of my wings hurt but the pain lessened with every down-stroke. When I finally got up high enough to see the top of the roof, I looked around for Eric. He was nowhere to be found.

"Up here," came a voice from above me.

I looked up to see Eric hovering silently above me on his beautiful emerald wings.

"We have to get going now."

I gave a slight nod and flew up to where he was. I was still a little clumsy on my wings but I managed. When I reached the spot where he was, we took off, soaring high above the city. Flying through the clouds, I decided, was not one of my favorite things to do because you get wet. But the view from the sky was amazing. The ground looked like a patchwork quilt.

"How're you doing?" he asked after we had been flying for a while.

"I'm doing okay. The pain is almost completely gone."

"The ground is really amazing from up here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

We didn't talk most of the way, but the silence got kind of boring so I decided to ask him a question.

"I'm a little confused here. Your wings are emerald green and so are your eyes. But my wings are violet and my eyes are blue."

"Not anymore. Follow me."

He dove down towards the ground where, as I got closer, noticed that there was a pool of water; a lake or a pond.

"Look here."

I looked into the water and stared at the figure that stared back at me. It had perfect skin and violet eyes that matched the exact color of my wings.

_This can't be my reflection, _I thought. _My eyes are blue, not violet._

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, innocently.

"My eyes? What happened to my eyes?"

"Your eyes have changed color. When given wings, your eyes assume their true color. It happens to all of us."

"So what color were your eyes?"

"Used to be somewhere between blue and green. Now we really must be going now."

"Yes, I suppose we should."

I took off from the ground, my body immune to the pain that it was experiencing. Not only had he changed my physical features in just one way, but two. First it was my wings, and now my eyes? This was just getting too weird for me.


	3. Chapter 2

The rest of the flight was in silence.

"I need you to do exactly what I tell you."

I was in no mood to talk now so I stayed silent, listening to what he was going to say.

"I need you to tuck in your wings and put your hands above your head."

"And why should I listen to you? You come into my home, give me wings, change my eyes, and now you're asking me to trust you? Is there anything else you're going to do that involves me that you haven't told me about that I should know?"

"Yeah, I'm going to try and keep us from getting killed. If they find out that I gave you wings, they have permission to kill both of us. I don't think you would want that to happen."

I looked down and then looked back up. We were really high up.

"No."

"Good. Then do what I told you."

Without another word, I raised my arms above my head and pulled in my wings. I had expected to fall, but strong, cold hands closed tightly around my wrists keeping me suspended in the air. It felt like floating.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I think so," I lied.

"We're almost there. Just a little bit further," he told me.

I was completely scared out of my wits. My pulse was slowing down as my heart returned to its normal pace. After my almost- fall, my adrenaline was rushing.

"You are so bad at lying," he commented. "I can feel your pulse racing."

"I know. But I can try."

"And you'll fail every time. You can't lie to a vampire."

"Why?" I asked, intrigued by his statement.

"Our senses are more . . . enhanced than humans."

"And what's that supposed to mean? That we humans have dull senses?"

"To a vampire, that is the case."

He paused for a moment as if the find the right words to voice his thoughts. I looked up to see his face. A mixture of struggle and confusion had appeared on his face, as for the reason that they had appeared there, I had yet to find out.

"Is something wrong?" I asked with a slight note of sincerity in my voice.

"I shouldn't be telling you this information. I'm not even supposed to talk to you at all. Or know you for that matter."

"Why?" I asked, fear creeping unwontedly into my voice.

"Hundreds of vampires are dying each year. Every year, one male vampire is selected from each and every family the night before New Year's Eve to go out to different parts of the world and bring back a human to the Fae for a ceremony called Vanequia."

He went silent for a while and then stared again.

"Vanequia is a very dangerous ceremony held every New Year's Eve to create a new generation of vampire."

I gasped, but said nothing to see if he would say anything more about this so-called ceremony.

"That is why I gave you the wings before the Transformation Ceremony. It is much more painful for a vampire to acquire the wings than it is for a human. You must keep your wings hidden until the time comes for the Wings Ceremony. When the time _does_ come, reenact exactly what happened today but a little more dramatic. I will be the one paired up with you since I 

brought you here so don't worry. Just be sure to make everything convincing. If you don't, we might as well just kill ourselves now to save time and pain."

He paused for a second.

"When we get there, act, struggle to get free."

We flew for a little bit longer until a platform was visible. We flew towards it and I closed my eyes since I had nothing better to do. My feet touched solid ground and I must have jumped a little because he whispered in my ear.

"We're here," was all he said.

I opened my eyes only to shut them again. I was tired and The Fae was nothing special to look at.

"Start acting. Struggle to get free."

It took me a moment to understand what he was trying to tell me. When I understood, he had already grasped my hands behind my back. I thrust my body back and forth but it was very hard to struggle even a little due to his strong grip. He shoved me forward in the direction of a huge hole in the ground where there was a staircase. He led me down the stairs into a small room with no windows; just a small door.

"Almost there," he whispered in my ear.

"I kind of got that part," I grumbled.

He shoved me in the direction of the door and led my through into an open area decorated with strings of lights hanging everywhere. It was like a big festival (and to them, it probably was) or carnival. There were so many lights and the light was so intense that it became blinding. I struggled again to free one hand in order to shield my eyes from the glare, but his grip still held firm, so I gave in to closing my eyes and using my hair as a second shield...

Then, we stopped, and I almost fell as I was jerked backward.

"We're here."

"I figured that part out for myself." I almost snapped at him. I was _so_ not in a good mood.  
"You would make a very good vampire. You have just the right attitude."

"Thanks for the compliment you-"

The rest was drowned out by the cheer of all the other vampires in the big crowd. I looked up to see that we had arrived to stand around a huge bon fire. I chanced a look around me only to see poor girls and boys, all teen-agers, like me, being held captive just as I was, with probably no idea what was going to happen. That was the only difference between me and the other humans that were here tonight; I knew exactly what was going to happen. My entire life (well, at least part of it, anyway) would be erased, gone forever, banished to the deepest darkest corners of my mind, never to see the light of day again.

"Welcome, my friends, human and vampire alike," a loud voice said.

I looked around just in time to see a young man stride into the center of the large circle of beings.

A loud buzz of voices arose from the crowd, but all became quiet as he raised one hand to silence them. The crowd was hushed in two seconds.

"Welcome to all. We are here for a very special ceremony that will take place tonight to replenish our numbers and save our race from extinction."

I felt Eric's body tense at once, his hand tightening around my wrists to the point where a sharp pain spread up my arms, forcing me to suppress a scream down to only a tiny whimper. His grip loosened at once. Something was going to happen and Eric was not excited, though everyone else was.

The crowd was silenced again.

"It is time for the Transformation Ceremony!" he yelled. A cry of excitement arose from the crowd, only to be silenced once more. "I shall call names off this list. If and when your name is called, please step forward with your choice."

Names were read of the list two at a time. The vampire/human pairs walked forward, were read some numbers, and sent off into various rooms. The door was closed behind them. It was impossible to see what the inside looked like from where I stood with Eric, but I knew that what it looked like wouldn't matter. The only thing that mattered tonight would be what happened inside the rooms.

"Eric Fladel, 06-18-94."

He nodded once, shoved me forward into the circle, never letting go of my hands, and directed me to one of the hundreds of rooms that read 06-18-94.

As we were walking he whispered, "When I let go of your hands, run into the room and sit in one of the corners."

We reached the room, he opened the door, let go of my hands, and I rushed inside, just as he had told me. He followed behind me, with a scary calmness, into the room. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

"I really don't want to do this to you so I am going to give you a choice. Either I can pretend to turn you into a vampire and leave you human, or I can turn you into a vampire for the rest of eternity. The choice is entirely yours."

I thought for a moment.

"If I choose to stay human, what will happen to you?"

"If they found out they would capture me, track you down, and kill us both for defiance."

"And if I choose otherwise?"

"Great pain and suffering will befall you."

_Great. _I thought. _Both sides will suffer._


	4. Chapter 3

"Neither one of us will give them reason to kill us."

"Are you sure? If that happens, there is no turning back."

"Yes, I'm sure," I replied, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

"You can't lie to a vampire, but so be it."

I moved to stand up. He advanced on me, walking slowly towards my shaking body. My conscience seemed to drift out of my body and I viewed the scene from above. Here, a young girl, being advanced on by a teen-age vampire in a small dim room. Not a very heart-warming sight.

He stopped an arm's length in front of me and pushed me up against the wall.

"You don't know the first thing about being a vampire. You don't know what you're giving up here."

"Then tell me. Fill me in."

"The first thing that vampires have to fight, especially when entering the human world is the thirst. Thirst, bloodlust, call it what you may, it happens to all of us. It's easier for those of us that know how to control it, harder for those of us who are new. But even the best can cave in."

He paused and stared at me, probably waiting to see if I would change my mind. I just stared back blankly and waited to see if he would start again.

"You're never going to change your mind, are you?" he asked.

"Not unless you can give me a good reason to," I answered with a little smile.  
"The worst thing about becoming a vampire is the tr-"

He was cut off at faster than the speed of sound. There was a huge crash as a fairly large animal came crashing through the wall.

"Step away from the girl," it demanded.

"By all means, it would be my pleasure," he answered, apparently enjoying this.

He backed away from me towards the opposite end of the room while the creature walked in front of me, and then turned around to stare at me.

It had bright blue eyes, light brown fur, and a body built to pounce.

"What's going on? Who are you? What are you doing here?" I spilled out about one tenth of the questions I had for this creature and the more I thought, the more questions I had.

"We'll have time for questions later. Trust me; I have my fair share of questions for you, too."

With that, she turned around again to face Eric.

"You stay away from my friends, get it?"

"I didn't see any girl."

"Good. And you'll do well to remember that, too." She turned back to me. "Jump on my back and hold TIGHT." She stressed the word. "It's going to be a rough ride."

It took me a second to comprehend what she had just said. At the moment, I had about twice as many questions for her as I had three minutes ago.

With reluctance and a bit of fear, I walked forward, swung myself on the creature, and held on for my dear life.

"You all good back there?"

"I think -" that was all I got out before she took off sprinting through the forest, weaving in and out of the trees so fast that they all looked like one big blur. I had trees rushing past me and tree branches brushing up against my face, just about tearing it to shreds.

Then, all of a sudden, we stopped. The stop was short and fast, and managed to send me flying, landing hard on my back. Dirt and rocks plus scraped back can equal major pain. This, 

trust my luck, was exactly the situation I found myself in. It felt like getting a thousand needles stabbed into my back. I tried to pull myself up into a kneeling position, but it took a couple of tries.

When I finally got up, I felt a hundred pairs of eyes peering down at me but when I looked up, I looked right back down because it just so happens, as if my night couldn't get any worse, I was surrounded by a pack of wolves.

"Oh, look. The poor girl is scared."

"Leave her alone Nessa."

"If that is what you wish, Linwe. I'm am truly sorry, Linwe."

"Now who do we have here?" This voice must have come from Linwe.

I stayed silent and curled up into an even tighter ball sending a splitting pain down my back causing me to whimper.

"It's ok. There's nothing for you to be afraid of. We're here to help you.

I stayed curled up in my ball.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked slowly, for fear of getting myself into even more trouble.

"We are the only ones who can help you, at the moment."

"Help me what? I was doing just fine on my own before _she_ showed up." I gestured at the wolf that had dragged me here.

The wolf stepped forward. "_She_ has a name, you know." She seemed a bit angered.

I uncurled from my ball only to come face to face with her. I backed away for fear of getting my nose bitten off.

"Well _excuse_ me. I didn't know your name so how am I supposed to call you something I don't know?"

"Smart aleck, aren't we?" She started walking forward, slowly advancing on me until I was practically backed up against the others.

"Darcy!" Linwe snapped.

The wolf flinched.

"Control yourself. The order forbids you to attack your own friends and family. You should know that by now."

"Yes, of course, Linwe. Sorry Linwe."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to, Darcy."

She flinched. "Yes, Linwe, as you wish." She turned to face me. "I am so sorry, Aurora. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. You must be scared enough as is."

"Apology accepted, Darcy. And it's Shadow, not Aurora."

"Elvira will do _much _better than Darcy. I hate that name."

Elvira steeped back to her place in line as Linwe stepped forward to speak to me.

"Aurora is such a beautiful name. Why Shadow?"

"Just a nickname my friends and family call me. My first name is kind of plain, although I was named after my great-grandmother."

"So I've heard."

Aurora stared back, slightly puzzled by how much they knew about her. How could they possibly know this much about her when they had only just met?

"Excuse me for being rude-"

"Oh, don't worry about rudeness at all. It's highly overrated."

"But how do you know so much about me when we have only just met? I mean, I've 

never met you before, have I?"  
"Oh, we've met. You've also met Elvira, Nessa, and Damien," each stepping forward as their name was said.

"She's right, Rah-rah. We have met," Damien said.

No one had ever called her Rah-rah but Keegan.

"It's true," said Nessa.

Elvira nodded.

But I have never met any wolves before let alone ones that could speak English. When I voiced this to the others, they just laughed and Damien even rolled on the ground.

"We've met in a different form," replied Elvira. "May I show her?"

"Yes, if you must. Damien, Nessa, you may, too."

Elvira was the first to move. She stepped a little ways away from the rest of them, rose up on her hind legs, and slowly started to transform into a human. She looked very familiar.

The next one to go was Nessa, then Damien. When they were both finished, they turned to face Linwe and suddenly every eye was on her. She seemed to turn it into a little dance. It was beautiful and graceful, like a ballet.

_Amazing_, I thought.

I had never seen anything like it before; on the T.V. or the internet.

When Linwe was done dancing, she settled down in line next to Elvira. I looked down the line realizing that all the faces looked familiar. One by one, it all came back to me. They were my best friends.

Linwe was Emily, Elvira (Darcy) was Mackenzie, Damien was Keegan, and Nessa was Victoria.

My mouth hung open as I staggered backward.

"Lee-lee, is that you? And Kenzie and Tori and… oh gosh I can't believe…" my voice changed to a whisper for the single name and then raised again, "Keegan? What's going on?" I was completely and utterly confused at the moment.  
"Like I told you," Mackenzie said, "we've met in a different form."

It took me a while to comprehend what had just happened. First, I was surrounded by werewolves. Second, I knew four of them. Third, the four were my BFF's. And now they were expecting me to believe this? No way was this happening, never going to happen, I must be dreaming. This is just way too much for me to handle in one night.

"I knew it would be too much," Emily said. "I'm pack leader, I should have said something."

"No, no, no, I'm fine. I'm more than a little dizzy and it's been a big day, night, something; whatever."

"Are you tired? We have somewhere you can sleep if you want," Keegan suggested. "You look like you could use some rest." There seemed to be a little too much anxiety in his voice. It kind of scared me.

"Yeah, some sleep might be nice, but what about my parents? Won't they be worried when they find out I'm gone?"

"Don't worry about it. When you enter this dimension, time in the other stops completely. You could stay here for years and grow old. Then return to the other dimension and be young again," said Emily.

"Shadow, you've had a rough day. A lot of stuff has happened that you could never have expected, never have seen coming," Keegan said. He looked over at Emily, asking permission. 

She nodded. He took me by the hand and led me out of the crowd, down a few passages to a sparsely furnished room where I would stay for the night. He must have sensed that I would not (and _could_ not, although I would never admit it) want to talk right then.

The room was small, but just big enough to fit a bed, desk, and some chairs. The bed was made, the desk free of clutter, and the floor neatly swept.

All of a sudden, Keegan wrapped me in a big bear hug; half sweeping me off the ground.

"Whoa! I would like to keep in contact with the ground until tomorrow if you don't mind."

He set me back on the ground but continued to hug me for a few seconds more.

"Dude, it's not the end of the world."

"It seemed like it for a while, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Emily was the first to arrive here. How she got here she won't say to any of us. Kenzie, Tori, and I were brought here by Eric, just as you were although it took a while for everyone to join up. It was a shock to all of us. Took us a while to believe what was happening even then. It even took days for it to sink in for Tori and Kenzie."

I stayed silent and focused on what Keegan was telling me.

"None of us were originally werewolves. Well, some of us were, but I'm not allowed to say who. Not until you become one of us. If it's what you want to do. Kenzie, Tori, and I didn't really have a choice in the matter of werewolf or human. The ones who rescued us kind of turned us before they brought us back. Emily punished them for it and apologized to us. None of it was supposed to happen that way. We were supposed to have a choice in the matter, but unless we became werewolves, we would have to stay here for the rest of our lives."

"That would suck."

"Yeah, it would. But it seems like things worked out for the better, though, doesn't it?"

"It does, sort of, in a weird and twisted kind of way."

"Depends on how you look at it."

"Yeah, well, I'm getting really tired so I'm going to go to bed if you don't mind."

"Oh, good. I was starting to worry. I was tired, too when I first got here. Of course it took a lot to get me tired since I was turned before I actually got here."

"Right," I said thoughtfully. "Well, good night, then."

"Yeah, get a good night's sleep." He turned and walked away. He sounded kind of disappointed in a way. But I was too tired to think very much about it.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Don't leave this bedroom tonight. It can get dangerous at night here with the werewolves and stuff."

"Sure. You've been here longer so I guess you would know. Good night, Keegan."

"Good night, Shadow."

I lie down on the bed and immediately, silently, fell into a dreamless sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning well rested with a bad case of bed-hair. I smoothed out my hair to the best of my abilities and walked out the door. When I arrived outside, Mackenzie, Emily, Keegan, and Victoria appeared out of nowhere. I jumped, a little startled by their sudden appearance.

"Hey, what happened to your eyes?" Victoria asked. "Weren't they blue?"

"Yeah, there's a funny story about that - "

"Sorry," Emily said. "We didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, no problem. I'm starting to get used to people startling me. So where am I exactly?"

It was Mackenzie who spoke next.

"We weren't really happy that you showed up here, Shadow."

"Why was Aurora chosen for the vampire's ceremony? Why her? Of all the people who walk the face of the earth, why did it have to be her?" Keegan shouted at the sky.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Yes, Shadow. Something is very wrong and it just happens to be bad news for all of us."

"And the bad news would be that…"

"The bad news would be that we can't let you go home."

"Well, actually," corrected Emily, "we can, but under one condition."

"And that condition would be… "I was starting to get worried. They all put on that reassuring look. My face must have said it all.

"You would have to become one of us."

"What do you mean 'one of us'?" I already knew the answer but I asked anyway.

They didn't answer me with words. They simply morphed into werewolves and then back.

Keegan was the first to speak again. "Now do you see why we're not too happy that you happened to come here?"

"Yes, I do. And I can understand why."

_Ok. So they wanted me to become a werewolf, but what about my wings? I still hadn't told them about that. The only problem was: Was this the right time to tell them?_

"Um, question. Does it hurt? Becoming a werewolf, I mean. Because I can't really take any more pain and stay sane." This seemed like the fastest and easiest way to tell them. I was also running short on time and short on ideas. This was the first thing that came to mind.

"What do you mean by 'any more' pain?" Victoria asked.

"I didn't know how to tell you. I thought this would be the easiest way to get it out."

They just stared back at me, the same blank expression spread across each of their faces.

I slowly, and carefully, spread my violet wings out to their full length. I was so afraid that they might be mad at me for not telling them sooner that I cupped my face in my hands.

When all was quiet, I looked up only to find the most confusing sight that I had ever seen in my entire life, out in front of me. Victoria, Mackenzie, Keegan, even Emily, and everyone else who had happened to walk into the clearing, human and wolf alike, were down on the ground bowing to me.

"Please, stand up," I said. This had taken confusion to a whole new level.

Everyone stood up and stared at me, as if waiting to be given some kind of order.

"Go about your business, please."

They all bowed once to me and left, going this way and that, into various rooms and 

paths doing their daily work.

I stared at Emily, Kenzie, Tori, and Keegan.

"What the heck just happened? Somebody please tell me because, obviously, I missed something here."

They all started talking at once, creating a noise so loud that I had to cover my ears just to hear myself think.

"One at a time, if you don't mind, because I would prefer to understand what the heck you are trying to say." My temper was becoming dangerously short.

They all took turns talking, explaining what had just happened as well as why.

According to their history, a long time ago, there was a wolf that had become so powerful that she took control of the entire werewolf society as well as that of the vampires, too. No one could stop her. But one day, a girl, about my age, came into the town dimension She had violet eyes as well as wings. She led the town in a bloody rebellion, overthrowing its dictator and restoring peace to the two races.

"And now, what, you think I'm her?"

"No. A descendant of her, but we treat them all like royalty."

"Why me, though? My life is complicated enough already. I am a girl with wings, I can't go back to see my family, they don't even know I'm gone, and now this? I don't need that on top of what I already have. That's just way too much for me to handle."

"Don't worry."

"Yeah, we need to show you show you some stuff. We'll be here to help you, too."

"We're not asking you to take command of an army and lead it in a war. We're just asking you to join us."

"We have to fly to get there so I hope your wings aren't too sore."

I groaned. _Oh, great,_ I thought. _More lessons in flying. What fun._

They gave me some time to think over my options:

Become one of them and be able to go between dimensions

Or

Stay a freaky little girl with wings trapped in another dimension.

I wanted to see my family again, but to make that happen, I had to go with option one. The only problem was that I wanted to stay a normal teenager. If I stayed human, I would never be able to leave. I only had one choice. I had to become a werewolf.

_So it's all come down to this, _I told myself. _I have to change races just to see my family. This is completely pathetic. They owe me one for this._

"So, if I were to say yes to your offer, how would it happen?"

"Well, it's very simple, really," said Victoria, looking expectantly at Emily.

"You know the process just as well as I do, Victoria. Probably even better since you're the newest addition."

"Yeah, well, it sounds better when you do it and I hate talking about it."

"Fine, I'll explain it later." She turned to face me. "Follow me. We need to get you guys going if you want to make it there and back before dusk. I'll explain the ritual when you get back."

"Follow me," said Mackenzie.

I followed her and the rest of them deep into the forest of trees. Linwe was the last to follow.

"If I call your name, step forward! The names are as follows: Silvermyst, Eridessa, Rany, Fawn, and Claron!" Linwe rants off the five names from memory. They stepped forward one by one to face in a semicircle around Linwe. "Please accompany Elvira, Damien, Nessa, and Miss Vydia to the Place. You have permission to answer any questions that she has for you. My only restriction is this. Don't give away anything about our clan until she has joined us. I will catch up with you later."

"Yes, Miss Mysteria," they all said in unison.

"That's _very_ good." She turned to face me, Mackenzie, Victoria, and Keegan. "Tori, Kenzie, Keegan, take good care of Miss Vydia. Protect her as you would me."

"Yes Miss Mysteria," they all replied.

"Good bye, Miss Vydia."

"Good bye, Lee-lee."

With that, Emily turned back and walked away. Mackenzie, Victoria, and Keegan took up positions in front of me while Silvermyst, and Eridessa took positions on my left and right. Rany, Fawn, and Claron took up spots behind me, completing a circle of protection around me.

We walked, weaving in between the trees until we reached a small meadow with flowers all around it. They led me into the middle and spread out, probably for wing space.

They all spread out their wings, each pair a different color, and I did the same.

Silvermyst had gray-blue wings, Eridessa had pearl-like wings with a pink tint, and Fawn had golden-brown wings. Rany had sky-blue wings and Claron had wings that were almost transparent.

Mackenzie, Victoria, and Keegan had the most extravagantly-colored wings of all, apart from Aurora's. Mackenzie's wings were a bright copper, Victoria had wings that were a deep cherry-brown, and Keegan had wings that reminded me of the ocean; not quite green but not quite blue.

They all crouched down low on the ground, knees bent, body set in a crouch. I copied, every inch of me dreading the flight to come.

"Ready?" Mackenzie asked.

Obedient 'yes's echoed throughout the meadow.

"Good."

"On my signal," Victoria told us.

The signal was given and we took off into the cool mid-morning air.

The view was amazing from the sky. There were trees and flowers everywhere. There were meadows that polka-dotted the surface that flew beneath us and every here and there we would spot deer grazing on the lush green grass. We flew for about half an hour with me asking a question every few minutes. They answered politely and to the best of their abilities. When I asked something that couldn't be answered, they would politely say, "Sorry, but we can't say," or "We have no right to answer that," or "That is not our right to say." They were all very nice to me, but then again it might be because they were told to be.

Some of the questions I asked were things like "How long do werewolves live," and "Do all werewolves have wings," as well as more specific questions like how old they were and if there was a difference in how werewolves' ages were calculated, just because the age of a dog is calculated one human year was seven dog years. They said that there was no difference between 

them. There used to be up until the Great Defeat. There used to be a three-year difference. Then something changed. Nobody knows what, though. It remains a mystery to them to this day.

By the time that was all said and done, we were almost at our journey's end. I made an agreement with the five girls. We agreed that since I had asked them questions on the way here, they wanted permission to ask me questions on the way back; if I wasn't too tired, that is.

We arrived at a huge cliff with a cave and outcrop in the surface. We landed on the large outcrop in front of the mouth of the cave, and folded in our wings. We rested for a few minutes after the long flight, and then walked into the cave, swallowed up by the darkness.

"Um, guys? One more question. Can you see in the dark?" I asked.

"Enough to see where we're going. Why?"  
"Because I can't, so I have no idea where I'm going."

"Oh, right."

A light flickered in front of me and then the whole cave was illuminated. Keegan led the group with Victoria behind him and Mackenzie right on her tail. I looked behind me and saw the rest of them following behind me.

Keegan led us through the twists and turns of the tunnels. I followed silently, thoughts swarming around in my head making it impossible to concentrate on any one thing.

Where were we going? What did they want to show me that was so important it had to be hidden in a cave?


	6. Chapter 5

"We're almost there, Shadow," said Victoria.

"Where are we going, you guys?"

"You'll see when we get there. To be honest, we don't even know much about it ourselves. Ow! What was that for, Kenzie?"

"That's reassuring, Tori," I mumbled.

"That's why," Mackenzie muttered to Victoria.

We walked on in silence, not talking, through the weaving corridors of the underground maze of tunnels. Then, suddenly we stopped. I bumped into Mackenzie.

"We're here," said Keegan.

"We kind of figured that out already, Day-day," commented Tori.

"Ha, ha. Kenzie, give Miss Vydia the lamp."

Mackenzie handed me the lamp.

"Miss Vydia, please come here."

I walked up to the front of the line to where Keegan was standing. The wall in front of us was covered in glyphs. The characters looked very familiar, but I hadn't the slightest idea as to where I might have seen them before.

"Place your hand here."

He pointed to a spot in the glyphs where they all came together to form a circle in the middle. There was a handprint there that fit the shape of my hand perfectly.

I placed my hand there and pushed, careful not to push too hard and, to my astonishment, the small circle moved inward under the pressure. A light seemed to flood the glyphs like a wave rolling across the shore, filling every line, every indentation of the glyphs. Then, the wall itself started to fall in and it swing open like a door to reveal yet another passageway.

"Lead us down the passage to the fourth room on the right," Keegan instructed.

I followed his instructions. When we arrived at the door, Silvermyst spoke up.  
"Only you can enter the room of your ancestors' treasures. What lies beyond this doorway is to be seen by you first. We may not enter the room until you have finished."

They all agreed silently.

_My day is getting more complicated by the second, _I thought.

"Ours are all, Aurora," answered Keegan, so quietly that I seemed to be the only one that could hear him.

"No one else can hear me, Aurora, only you. It's called telepathy. It's one of the many new skills you'll inherit once you turn. If you turn."

Now I noticed it. His lips weren't moving at all. Yet I could still hear his voice. I gasped. I could hear his voice in my head.

"So, how do I open this door?"

"You don't. There is nothing to open. The door is merely there as an illusion."

"Put your hand through the door, Aurora." I could hear Keegan again in my head.  
I raised my hand and when I tried to place it on the door, my hand went right through.

_Wow, I wonder how this is done, _I thought.

"I'll show you one day; if you turn, that is." Keegan answered to my thought.

"How much longer are you going to keep this up? It's getting annoying." I asked out loud.

"Until you tell me to stop," he answered.

"Okay, then. Can you stop?"

"Oh, don't worry. You won't be able to hear me in there. There are wards all around this 

room preventing any magic from being sent into it. That means telepathy, corruption, etc.; the list could go on forever."

"Well, there's some food for thought," I commented.

"You'd better go inside now. I would like to meet Lee-lee before sundown. Things can get kind of dangerous at night."

"So I've heard." I nodded and walked through the illusion into the room that lay beyond.

It was a small room with just a few items placed in the middle of the floor. There was nothing extravagant about the room. When I think royalty, I think somewhere along the lines of gold on every wall, beautifully decorated, huge room; stuff like that. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. Here I am, expecting all these things, and when I finally get there, I am presented with something completely different.

I walked a little farther into the room, closer to the objects on the floor so as to examine them.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve."

_Wow, _I thought. _Twelve items. That's a lot. Well, not really, but, oh well._

I walked over to the items to inspect them. The first item was in a wooden box. I lifted the lid to reveal a bow. It was beautiful with jewels imbedded in it.

The second item was a quiver filled with brand new arrows. The quiver itself was painted with bright color swirls.

The third was a small jar with a label on it. The label read 'Armor'. The flip-side had instructions on how to use it. There was nothing special about the jar other than the silvery liquid substance that dwelled inside it.

The fourth was a sword with jewels embedded in its hilt.

The fifth item was a small silver dagger with a golden hilt and silver blade. Embedded in the knife were a ruby, emerald, sapphire, and diamond.

The sixth item was a shield covered from top to bottom with jewels and intricately drawn designs. A strange symbol was imprinted in the center.

The seventh item was in another box. I untied the ribbon that held it shut and opened it up, lifting the lid very carefully so as not to damage its contents. Inside the box was a beautifully decorated cloak.

The eighth was a small sack with a not attached to it with a violet ribbon. The note read:

"When the time has come for you

To discover the truth about your

Past, this bag will turn violet. The

Bag is not to be opened until then."

The ninth item was a small pouch filled with stars, ninja stars. There was nothing special about it other than the symbol inscribed in the center of it.

The tenth was a small container covered with flower designs filled with crystal clear water.

The eleventh item was a belt covered with jewels and pockets to hold all of the small items that now belonged to me. The symbol appeared here, too.

An item number twelve, the last and final object was a book with the same symbol on it as the stars. I opened the book to the inside cover. There were some papers there that fell out into my lap, and envelope and a card. On the front of the envelope was a name printed in a beautiful script in violet ink. The name was

_Aurora Acadamae Shadowa Annabelle Violette Vydia_

_Wait, _I thought. _Isn't that my name? _

I read it again.

_Aurora Acadamae Shadowa Annabelle Violette Vydia_

Yeah, it was my name; at least part of it was. Aurora was my name and apparently so was Vydia. The rest of it was completely new. I flipped the envelope over and stared at the seal. It was the same symbol that had appeared on the book, the ninja stars, belt, and shield. I broke the seal and opened the envelope. I pulled out the contents. There was a letter, a picture, and a few other papers.

The letter was written in the same script as the name on the front of the envelope. It took up a little more than a more than a page and was written in golden ink on a piece of violet paper. The letter read:

Dear Aurora,

Questions must run in your mind like a stream now, I know. I cannot answer all of them, but I can answer most.

First of all, why were you chosen? You are strong Aurora. Stronger than you think. In mind, body, and soul.

Secondly, your ancestry. Who were the women who led you to this? I, as you must have guessed, am your great-grandmother. I am Aduial. I was the daughter of a normal man, a book-binder. He sometimes would copy down a story from the book he was currently restoring. All of them spoke of vampires and werewolves.

As is probably expected, I came to love the creatures of father's tales. When a vampire came knocking, I knew what he wanted immediately. I asked him, boldly, to wait, collecting a pen, my stationary, and ink, placing them in a messenger bag. Going back to the door, I simply told him that I would come peacefully for fear of hurting my father. He looked slightly taken aback.

And so, I was flown to the Fae. I had remembered that there was a cross in that bag, as there was in every one of them. I could use it to threaten my captor if necessary.

Aurora, of all the things that your family would ever want you to know, one stands out above all. Never forget this, your family will always love you and that will never change. Your friends will be there for you in your times of need.

Times of turmoil await you, great-granddaughter, and betrayal is almost certain. Remember this for guidance, when your path becomes too faint to see:

You are a treasure and like all treasure, you must be polished every now and again. Do not overtax yourself.

Your body is just that: yours. No one else can ever that from you.

You are loved by your family and friends. Forget that and you are forever lost.

Signed,

Aduial

As I read the letter, I thought about how little I knew about my family. I'd have to remind myself to ask Emily a little bit more about them. I finished the end of the letter, placed it back in the envelope, and picked up the other papers that had fallen out with the letter. They were photographs.

The first one was a picture of two people, a man and a woman, holding hands and smiling. The back had some writing on it. It read:

Skylark and Sage

June 1985

The next picture had two girls in it. The back read:

Skylark and Alara

November 1968

I slipped the pictures into the envelope with the letter so as not to lose them, and turned the page in the book. There was no title page in the book, just a name. The name was Alara, the girl from the picture. The next few pages in the book had titles like Bow, Arrow, and Armor. Underneath them were descriptions of the items like special properties. When I got to the end of the descriptions, there was a small note that said to fill the rest of the pages with the other items that I find along my journey to come. I closed the book, gathered the objects in a small bag that I found lying around on the floor, and walked back over to the doorway. My friends were waiting there, smiling at me.


	7. Chapter 6

I carried out the items that lay within the cave out to my friends. They each picked up a few items to help me carry them out to the mouth of the cave.

By the time we got out of the cave, it was almost dark. Emily was leaning against the wall right outside. But there was someone next to her. Who was it? As we neared the spot where they stood, I got a better look at this mystery person. It was definitely a male. He looked about six feet five foot ten with brown hair and deep blue eyes.

"Hey guys!" Emily greeted us. "This is my friend, Moris. He's not from around here so I thought I might bring him along for a joy ride with Aurora and myself."

The sun was almost at the horizon, on the verge of disappearing behind the mountains.

"I brought along some sacks for you to but the treasures in so you don't damage them." She handed out some small sacks to Victoria, Mackenzie, Damien, and I. We carefully placed each item in an individual bag.

"Why don't you guys head back home and Moris and I will take Aurora home?"

""Well, I don't know," stuttered Mackenzie.

"Yeah. I agree with Elvira. We should probably stay together in a group," agreed Victoria.

"They're right. There's strength in numbers. It would be safer if we all went back together," confirmed Keegan.

"Do I have to make myself any clearer? As pack leader, I order you to go home and let Moris and I take Aurora home."

They all lowered their heads and stared at the ground. Then Keegan walked up to me. He leaned down to place his lips next to my ear, as if to whisper something.

"We'll stay close to you in case they're up to something bad," he told me.

I nodded my head and he pulled back.

"May I talk to Aurora in private for a moment?"

"Yes, you may."

He pulled me off to the side and led me into a group of trees that stood just a little ways away from the clearing where the others stood and waited.

When he stopped, I looked up at him only to find his face inches away from mine. Then, slowly, he leaned in to close the gap with his lips. The kiss started out slow and careful, like he was afraid he might break me. But as the short period of seconds drew on the kiss grew more urgent, giving away the fact that he was worried. When he pulled away, my breathing came in short little gasps, my heart racing with adrenaline.

"I've been meaning to do that for a while now," he said, breaking an awkward silence. "I'll make sure to keep the pack close in case you need us. I don't trust that Moris guy. Something's not right about him. I can feel it."

"Yeah, I had the same feeling," I answered. "Where are you guys going to put the stuff I found in the cave? We can't just put it anywhere. If someone finds it, they may try to steal them. I, I mean 'we', can't let that happen."

"I know. We'll find a place."

"Thanks," was all I said before he placed one hand under my chin, tilting my face up toward his and placed his arm around my waist. I locked my arms around his neck and he pulled my lips back up to his. This time, the kiss was slow and sweet, all trace of urgency gone. Our lips moved together as one. He was gentler this time, being careful not to let any feeling be betrayed that he didn't want me to know. The only thing I sensed was passion and love. A little concern and a hint of worry still seemed to slip through his defenses. When he pulled away, he looked at 

me staring into my eyes as if maybe, if he stared long and hard enough, everything would melt away and we would end up stranded on some deserted island alone, but together, left in peace for the rest of eternity.

"Stay here," he whispered. "Open your wings and wait for me. Get ready to run."

He wove his way back through the trees. I opened my wings carefully. I could hear a small 'pop' come from one of the joints from being pulled in for so long.

When Keegan returned, he was holding the bags that contained my new-found items.

"Run," he whispered.

He held the bags in one hand, and grabbed my wrist in the other, pulling me through the trees towards the edge of the cliff. We jumped and spread our wings, catching ourselves before we started to fall.

We flew up as high as we could, coasting on air drafts as necessary. I glanced behind us to see if we were being followed, which, of course, we were. There was only one figure following us, though, so I felt a lot better.

"Keegan?"

"Yes?"

I glanced behind us one more time to see how we were doing on get-away time. He was gaining. Fast. I could tell now that it was Moris.

"Moris is following us and he' getting extremely close."

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, but we might want to hurry it up a little bit, though. I still don't trust that guy."

Then, all of a sudden, something grabbed my wings, holding me suspended in midair. It pushed my wings back in against my back, folding them up. Then it placed its arm around my body so I couldn't move my arms or my wings, and placed its other arm around my neck holding a small knife at my throat.

"Don't say a word," it whispered in my ear.

_Oh, God, _I thought. _It's Moris._

My only response was leaning my head back as far as it would go, trying to get as far away from the blade of the knife as possible. He only slid it closer.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Keegan. I thought you were very kind. You had the right idea, though, taking her back by yourself, or at least trying to," he said to Keegan.

Keegan turned around abruptly and hovered in the air to stare at Moris. He, too, hovered, just four feet away from him.

"Let her go," Keegan ordered through his clenched teeth.

"I would, but then she would fall to her doom. I don't think we want that to happen, now do we?"

Keegan didn't answer right away, but rather stared Moris right in the eyes. There was so much hatred in his expression. But his eyes were pleading and filled with worry. He was shaking. Then his face turned hard again.

"What do you want, Moris?" he asked, the pleading and worry gone from his eyes.

"I simply want you to fly home, find a place to put her belongings, or whatever, and keep your mouth shut about what happened." He said it as if it were the simplest of things to do.

"And if I don't?" he challenged.

Moris didn't answer with words but actions. He pulled the knife a little harder against my throat, making a cut just long and deep enough for a drop of blood to come out.

"Don't. Touch. Her. Don't. You. Dare."

"Oh, I will if I have to," Moris replied.

"Keegan, go home. I'll be okay," I added.

_I hope, _I added silently in my head. I didn't quite believe my words myself, but I hoped that he wouldn't hear the doubt in my voice. If he did, we would both be toast for sure. I couldn't let that happen.

"Keegan, just go. Don't turn this in to something more than it-" I stated, but Moris interrupted me.

"Oh, go ahead and turn this into something more. I'd love to see the outcome of that fight," Moris said.

I saw Keegan's eyes widen as Moris said that, so I tried again once more.

"Please, Keegan."

There was pleading in my voice now and it was clear in my eyes for sure. I know he saw that because he immediately backed off without another word, turned around, and returned to flying in the direction that we were headed in before I was captured.

When Keegan was only a small speck on the horizon, Moris removed the knife from its position in front of my neck, turned around, and, never letting go of me, flew back to the clearing in front of the cave. Emily awaited us alone in the clearing.

When Moris alighted on the rocky surface outside the cave, Emily walked up to him.

"Thank you, Moris. I had a feeling they might try to pull a stunt like that."

"Yes, well, it was a good bit of exercise for me."

"I'm sure you enjoyed that little ride."

She turned to face me.

"As for you, we better get you back before the others start to worry."

I shrank back into the shadows, afraid to be anywhere near Emily, let alone Moris.

"Rora, what's wrong?" she asked, sounding completely innocent.

"Well, let's reflect on what's happened to me today, shall we?" I stated with obvious sarcasm from the shadows of the trees.

"Okay," Emily replied.

"I've discovered I'm royalty, found numerous items that belonged to my family, and have been semi-kidnapped by some guy I don't even know. Oh, yeah. And I also had a knife pressed against my throat so hard it drew blood. You _think_ I'm alright?!"

I had come out of the shadows during my little outburst, and I was mad. Emily turned to face Moris.

"I told you not to harm her, Mory!" she yelled at him.

"Oh, come on. It was just a drop. I didn't even give her a big cut. It was just big enough to get Keegan to go home. Sure convinced her to tell him to."

"I don't care how big it was. She can't have any injuries no matter how small on her for the ceremony."

She stormed off into the trees. I heard something snap. Something big.

Within three seconds of her storming off, Moris had his knife at my throat again, lifting me at least a foot in the air.

"How dare you get mad at her like that," he scolded me.

He pulled the knife away, slipped it back into his pocket, and set me down on the ground.

"Well, excuse me, but I've been best friends with her since second grade. Have you?" I retorted.

He didn't answer, but stared at the ground, as if the right words could be found there.

When he finally looked back up, his eyes went straight to my face, locked on mine, never looking away.

He walked toward me and grabbed my wrist, pulling me away from the trees to the other side of the clearing. I struggled, trying to free myself, but his grasp only tightened.

"I'm trying to get you out of here before things get worse. I've seen Emily get mad before, worse than this, and you don't want to be around when that happens. You see these scars?" he pointed to three long scars that ran down his side. "She did that to me with her sword. It took them weeks to heal. Now, I don't think you want to be around if that happens, unless you want to get hurt, which would only make things worse."

I gulped.

"Leaving it is," I decided without a pause.

"Though so," he answered.


	8. Chapter 7

It turned out that Moris was taking me to my friends. When we got back, Mackenzie, Victoria, and Keegan were all standing in the middle of town, waiting for me to return, staring up at the sky. When I alighted on the ground in front of them, they all rushed up to me and nearly knocked me to the ground.

"Ok, guys. I'm ok, despite a few scratches, but other than that I'm fine. No big deal."

"No big deal?" asked Mackenzie.

"Girl, you were gone so long we thought that something bad had happened to you. You had us all worried sick!" exclaimed Victoria.

Keegan was silent but walked up to me and gave me one of his big bear hugs, squeezing me half to death.

"Ok, Keegan. You can put me down now before I suffocate."

Everyone laughed and Keegan set me down gently on the ground.

"Did you find a place to put my stuff?" I asked.

"Yes, we did, and no one will ever think of it."

"Except us, of course," added Mackenzie.

I smiled and gave them all a big hug again before heading back to my room to catch a few hours sleep before dawn.

"Come on, Aurora!" exclaimed Mackenzie, the next morning. She grabbed my wrist and started dragging me towards the dining hall.

"We have a surprise for you," Victoria chimed in.

I surrendered myself to them due to the fact that I had just woken up and didn't have the strength to defy them.

When we reached the dining hall, I strained my ears to see if I could hear any hint as to what was going on, but due to being human and having extremely weak hearing, I couldn't hear a thing to save my life.

They led my through the front doors, Mackenzie dragging me by the wrist, Victoria walking at my side, and Keegan bringing up the rear. Victoria opened the door to the dining hall, but all I saw was darkness, darkness, and more darkness. I guessed that Keegan, Victoria, and Mackenzie could all see, because while I was tripping over invisible objects, they were walking quite fine and without trouble.

_I am making myself look like a complete dork_, I thought to myself.

When we came to a halt, I almost fell because it was so sudden. Then the lights went on and everyone jumped out from behind chairs and tables and yelled 'Surprise!' as loud as they possibly could. Balloons were everywhere along with streamers and confetti. A big banner hung from the ceiling with the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY on it.

I banged myself on the head.

"How could I have forgotten?" I wondered out loud.

Today was my birthday. Of all holidays, this was the one I was most likely to forget. On my list of things I hated, this must have fallen somewhere around dying and never seeing my family again.

"Guys, you really didn't need to do this for me," I said, a slight note of pleading in my voice.

"Yes we did," they said, apparently missing the tone in my voice.

They walked me to the head of the table, where a huge and intricately carved chair, like the kind a king might sit in, sat pulled out and ready.

They walked me over to the table and as I got closer, I was able to see around the chair. What I saw both surprised me and made me feel even worse.

Laid out on the table was a beautiful feast ready to eat. It had everything from cantaloupe to turkey to the next best thing you can think of.

"This is so unnecessary," I pleaded.

"Stop whining and sit down," Victoria ordered. "The food's getting cold."

"Yes, ma'am," I muttered under my breath.

"I heard that," Victoria said.

_Oops, _I thought. _Keegan?_

_"Yes?"_ he asked me. I could hear his thoughts in my mind as clear as if he were standing right next to me saying them.

_How long have you known that this was going to happen?_

_"A day or two,"_ he admitted with obvious reluctance.

A low growl rose from my chest, too low for most to hear, and luckily, nobody did.

But the growl ceased when I felt Keegan place his warm hand on my arm, quieting me and at the same time apologizing.

_"I'm sorry. I didn't really have a choice. Emily's orders."_

_Right. About Emily…,_ I tried.

"Later," he said out loud.

I nodded silently and sat down. The party began.

When the party was over I was left with a mountain of presents, half being from people I didn't even know. I had opened the ones that were from my friends, saying that it was way too much for me to open at one time. They were surprisingly fine with that, and that was okay with me.

Mackenzie had told me to open hers first, so I did. It was a small box, the kind you might put a necklace in, wrapped in sparkly silver wrapping paper with a small golden bough on top. I took off the bow with ease and carefully removed the paper to reveal a small pink box with my name written in an elegant script in golden letters. I removed the lid and saw the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. It was a silver and golden chain with a small charm on it in the shape of a wolf. The wolf was outlined in gold with the rest of it being a beautiful amethyst.

Victoria's was next. Her present was about as big as a CD, but round, like a ball. It was wrapped in beautiful light blue paper with my name on it in violet ink. I took off the wrapping paper and looked at what lay before me in my hands. It was a small, round, stained-glass sphere and inside it was an elegant bird with royal purple wings and a yellow beak and feet.

Since Emily was not present at the time, I felt it best if I opened it when she would be there to watch me.

I glanced over at Keegan, who stared back at me.

_"Later," _I heard him say in my head again.

I nodded once more and announced that I was tired and felt like going to bed because of all the partying and the long day that I had had and would no doubt have tomorrow. They let me go in peace and Keegan asked to walk me to my new bedroom. I said that was alright and we set off towards the new tower that would temporarily be my home.

When we got there, I looked up to gaze at where Keegan had taken me. It was a tall tower painted royal purple just like my wings and my eyes, the same color as almost everything I had received since I had arrived here. It had vines growing all around it like they had been growing 

there since the beginning of time. The door seemed to be made out of some kind of wood like oak or pine. The windows on the outside were made of stained glass with a symbol that I couldn't recognize.

It was getting dark out, so Keegan offered to walk me to the door. He stood, unlocking it, while I walked up the steps not three feet behind him. But those three feet seemed to have made all the difference.


	9. Chapter 8

Just as I was about to reach the last step, a sharp, searing pain erupted in my back making me gasp. Keegan abruptly turned around, staring at me, trying to dissect my expression as I stood there. Then something came rushing at me from the side, knocking me into the bushes that grew next to the steps. But it didn't stop there. The pain grew even more excruciating as I was dragged into the surrounding forest. I started slipping in and out of consciousness as I fought to stay awake. The pain was even worse now, spreading like a fire through my veins. Then the cold washed over me and the world became clear again. But something was different. My view was closer to the ground, my eyesight keener in the dark than it should have been, and I could hear even the smallest of sounds that surrounded me in the forest.

I had fallen, I noticed, and tried to bring myself to my feet, I couldn't, though. I looked down cautiously, afraid of what I might see. And I had reason to be afraid. What I saw was nothing like I had expected I would ever look like. I had silver-toned fur covering every inch of my body. My hands, now paws, looked like they had been dipped in black paint at least three inches above the wrist joint. I saw the ground and my surroundings in even greater detail than before. All these changes seemed to be a little too much for me as I was beginning to feel lightheaded.

_Keegan?!_ I screamed in my head.

_"I'm coming, Aurora!" _he yelled back.

_What's going on? _I whimpered.

_"I don't know. Don't move. I'm coming."_

_I can't move. I'm being circled._

_"Oh." _I could hear Keegan running toward me through the forest, gaining speed with every second.

_Hurry, _I thought, pleadingly.

_"I'm coming," _he answered.

I turned my attention back to the wolf that continued to circle me as I stood, still dazed by my newfound form.

It continued to circle me, its eyes never once straying from me. My dizziness was not at all helping my concentration as I tried to figure out how far away Keegan was and, from there, how long it would take him to get here. So far, it wasn't looking good. I guess I would just have to try to defend myself. Even that wasn't looking good. Then, all of a sudden, the creature stopped pacing. Instead, as if the pacing hadn't been bad enough, he crouched down, readying himself to pounce straight at me. He growled threateningly, making me back up toward the trees. Keegan was getting closer now; if I could hold this guy off for a few minutes, it might give him enough time to get here before this guy tore me to shreds. But it didn't look like that was going to happen. Keegan was still miles away, too far to get here in time. It lunged at me. I tried to dodge him, but he was too fast and I was still a little dizzy. He landed on top of me, grabbed hold of me with his teeth, and flung me across the meadow. I landed hard against one of the trees, probably breaking something, assuming that the cracking sound had come from me and not the tree I had hit. I looked up to see him running back toward me, a hungry look in his eyes, harmful intent clear on his face. I tried to brace myself, through the already-throbbing pain, for what was to come. I never took my eyes off of him, watching him closely for any hint of what he was planning to do.

But I never got a chance to find out what that would be because a foggy haze tugged at the rims of my vision, clouding it over and sending me deep into unconsciousness.

All was black around me, but for a small light that shone in front of me. The light came closer, drawing nearer till it was so close it was almost blinding.

"Who are you?" asked a voice.

"I don't know anymore," I answered.

The voice was quiet for a moment. Then the light dimmed till I could see the being that had spoken. It was a woman. She had long dark hair and purple-grey eyes. She wore a long dark purple cloak that seemed to flow down her perfect figure and came to puddle around her feet on the floor. Beautiful white wings that seemed like something that you would find in a fairytale, protruded from her back, floating on air, it seemed. Something about her made her give off a comforting aura that made you feel like you could trust her one hundred percent, like you could tell her anything and everything, your deepest darkest secrets. But I knew better than that. I could trust no one but myself. I couldn't even fully trust my friends. Especially my used-to-be best friend, seeing as she had tried to kidnap me and her supposed boyfriend had threatened to kill me, and then decided to save me. I seemed to be caught up in some sick, twisted dream. I just wanted it to end so I could wake up and go back to living my normal life with my normal parents and normal sister. But I knew that that would never and could never happen.

Neither of us spoke for a while. I thought about her answer for a while, then thought of another question to ask.

"What are you?" I asked her.

But before she could answer, her form started to waver and she slowly faded away into nothingness. Even the light was gone. I stood up, surrounded by darkness once more, though it didn't last long. Soon, another figure appeared, this time clad all in black as he walked toward me. He, too, had wings; black ones that seemed to reach to the heavens. They came to a point at the top and wove a pattern of darkness till they reached the bottom. But just as he was about to reach me, his form started to waver slightly. One hand reached out, extended toward me. But his form wavered more, and he started to disappear. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the dark figure that now loomed over me.

"Trust no one but yourself. Don't meet the same fate that befell your family," it said, in a choked, raspy voice. Then he faded away until I was left alone, surrounded by the darkness once more.

I gasped, and then recoiled, for the sharp intake of cold air shocked my body, giving me a head ache. I couldn't remember anything as I gazed around the clearing again, seeing nothing but blurs of green, blue, and brown. I tried to sit up, but my head spun, forcing me to lie back down. I slowly got to my knees, realizing before long that I had changed back into a human. I slowly, and painfully, crawled over to a tree, throwing my arms around it, digging my fingers deep into the bark, slowly dragging myself up to a position that was half way between a stand and a crouch. I carefully pulled myself from tree to tree, stumbling every other step because a searing pain flashed up my right leg every time I took a step. I assumed it was broken along with my left arm and a few ribs. My skin and clothes were covered with dried mud from the forest floor and blood that was slowly seeping from the recently reopened wounds that now covered my body.

Painfully, I made my way back through the forest to the tower I had been attacked at the night before. I cautiously eased myself out of the cover of the trees, afraid that someone 

else might be hiding here, and limped painfully to the door. When I reached the steps, I reached down, slowly and painfully, to grab the keys that rested on the front porch where Keegan had dropped them the night before. Trying the keys in the lock seemed to take forever because my body was slipping into uncontrollable fits of shaking. When I finally got the right key in the door, I unlocked it and almost collapsed right there in the doorway. But I dragged myself inside, deciding against limping around aimlessly trying to find the bedroom; I walked over to the couch and carefully lowered myself onto it. Every movement hurt.

_Keegan!_ I called out in my head, in one last attempt to reach him.

"_Aurora?"_ asked a voice. It was Keegan's and the soothing sound of his voice relaxed me.

_Yes?_ I asked.

"_Where are you?"_ he asked back.

_I'm back at the tower,_ I answered.

"_I'll be right there,"_ he said, and then was gone. I drifted into unconsciousness soon after.

Keegan arrived at the tower a short while later. I had been asleep on the couch the whole time I waited. But a sharp knock at the door woke me.

"Come in!" I yelled. The door opened and someone, hopefully Keegan, stepped into the house.

"You really shouldn't leave the door unlocked, Your Highness," Keegan playfully scolded me.

I turned around and glared angrily at him.

"I would have locked it, but-" I stopped as he walked closer and came into view. He was covered in scratches. It was as if he had been in a fight similar to mine, though probably not thrown against a tree. But all feelings of sympathy disappeared when he spoke.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"I was thrown into a tree you idiot! Where were you?" I was almost yelling, but the amount of air that would have taken hurt me to point that I almost cried out in pain.

"I was attacked. A force-field was placed around the meadow so you could only get out, not in. I spent almost two hours trying to get through it. I had left to go get help, but was attacked on the way. I couldn't figure out who the wolf was, but she seemed familiar. When I got back, you were gone. I waited for you to call because I didn't know where you were or if you were asleep. I couldn't get any messages through to you while you were in there so after a while, I stopped sending them. I tried yelling too, but nothing worked."

"Oh," I said, stumped by his efforts, which had caught me by surprise.

"Thanks," I said, blushing.

"Anytime," was his brilliant answer. But it made me smile.

We talked for a little bit, but eventually we brought ourselves back to the subject we had both been dreading and therefore avoiding; the attack.

Neither one of us wanted to talk about it but the pain was becoming unbearable. I needed to get somewhere where I could be looked at, but I wasn't sure where or who to go to.

"How are you feeling?" was his amazing beginning.

"Fine," I lied. The pain was getting worse and I bet it was written all over my face because the next thing he said was:

"You're lying."

"Is it that obvious?" I asked.

"Kind of," he answered.

He reached out with his hand as if to touch me, but instead let his hand skim lightly over the length of my body. When he reached my feet, he pulled his hand back and sighed.

"What?" I asked.

He closed his eyes and sighed again before he spoke.

"Your injuries aren't that bad, though you have three broken ribs, your left arm is broken, and you right leg is fractured. Oh, and you have slight fractures all up and down your spine. That's probably from the impact of hitting the tree. It must have been pretty hard. But you'll heal fast enough."

I stared at him in shock.

"How do you know all that? You barely touched me."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," he said.

"Is that all you're going to tell me?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, and looked at the wall at the other side of the room. I dropped the subject.


	10. Chapter 9

I stared at him in shock.

"How do you know all that? You barely touched me."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," he said.

"Is that all you're going to tell me?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, and looked at the wall at the other side of the room. I dropped the subject.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"Nothing. Your body is already starting to heal. There is nothing more we can do for the moment except wait."

"How long is it going to take?" I asked.

"Not long. You should be fully healed in the next day or two. But for now, let's get you to bed so you can rest. That couch can't be that comfortable. I'll take you to the bedroom."

I slipped his arms under my body and lifted me up, carrying me up a flight of stairs, down a hallway and through a door to a bedroom. The walls were painted a deep purple and the curtains were a light shade of lavender. There was a couch in the corner that was a beautiful shade of green that matched the pillows that adorned the bed which was covered in blankets that were made of multiple shades of purple, blue, and green.

He gently set me down on the bed. I was asleep even before my head hit the pillow.

When I woke up the next morning I had the worst headache, but it didn't stop me from waiting in bed a few minutes before sitting up. I went slowly this time so as not to bring up another dizzy spell, pulled back the covers, and got out of bed. I walked to the door, opened it, and walked into the hall. It was adorned with violets from one end to the other.

I walked down a flight of spiral stairs to the first floor of the building. These stairs apparently lead to the kitchen. There were stainless steel appliances, a new cell phone, and a home phone. Next to the phone there was a note. The note read:

Good morning, sleepyhead!

Hope you're feeling better.

Food is in the fridge. If you

have any questions, call me.

852-555-8264

Love,

Keegan and Victoria

_Awww!_ I thought_. How sweet._

I set the note down and limped over to the fridge to check out the food supply. I pulled on the door and it opened soundlessly. Inside was enough food for a banquet. There was fruit, vegetables, dairy, and at least half of it was chocolate. I was in heaven with all that chocolate, but forced myself to shut the door. Of course, I had to grab a piece of the Swedish chocolate and a chocolate-covered molasses chip before that was possible.

Opening the freezer was even worse. There were the remains of the birthday cake from the party. There were a huge carton of Extreme Moosetracks ice cream, fudge, Popsicles, and a few frozen dinners. I dipped my finger in the icing on the cake, finding it still soft, and closed the door while sticking my finger in my mouth to lick off the frosting. Opening up the fridge again (torture!), I grabbed an apple and bit into it while closing the fridge and walking out of the room to explore the rest of the house.

Right outside the door to the kitchen was the dining room, which also lead to the small 

study and the living room. Off the living room was thewere a small bathroom and the armory. It was amazing. Filled from wall to wall with ever weapon you could imagine. It had everything from swords and shields to spears, bows, and arrows.

I decided to go back into the living room and look at the pictures that lined the walls. Some were baby pictures, some were of adults, teens, animal, pretty much everything. There was a whole variety of them. I walked to one that seemed to be filled with photos. I took it off the wall and brought it to one of the tables, turned it over, and started to open some of the flaps that kept the pictures in place.

The first one was a picture of five small children, four girls and one boy. On the back, it had their names. It read:

Teshawn, Maryanne, Annabelle,

Aurora, Shea

1993

Wow. Either I had a relative named Aurora, or it was a picture of me and some other kids. They all looked around the same age and the photo was dated 1993. That was when I was three years old. It has to be a photograph with me in it. But then who are the other kids in it? That would be a mystery for later/

I replaced the photo and picked up another one. This one had a girl and a boy in it, both about the four or five years old. The back read:

Aurora and Shea

1995

"Wow," I said aloud, without noticing what I was doing. The house had become so quiet and it was so big that my voice echoed off the walls and sounded three times louder than it should have. I jumped, and then burst out laughing. I placed the pictures back in their frames and hung them back on the wall.

The whole house had gone quiet so I decided to go back into the kitchen and call Keegan. I walked over to the phone, picked up the note, and dial the number. It rings for a few seconds and Keegan answers.

"Hello?" he says.

"Hey, Keegan, it's Aurora. What's up?"

"Same, same. How are you feeling?" he asks.

"Much better. You?"

"Good. Nothing much happened to me. It's you I'm worried about."

"Don't worry. I'm feeling much better. Just a little confused, I guess."

"Yeah. That's totally understandable."

"Hey, I was wondering if you could come over here for a little while. There were a few things that I wanted to tell you but with all the stuff that's happened it have been kind of hard to get a word in."

"Yeah, sure. I'll come over. I remember at the party something was on your mind. I never got to find out what it was. I'll be over in a few minutes."

"Okay. Bye, Keegan."

"Bye, Aurora."

We hung up and I went into the living room to wait for Keegan to arrive.


	11. Chapter 10

There was a knock on the door about five or ten minutes after I got off the phone with Keegan. I went to the door and looked through the peep hole to see who it was. It was Keegan, standing patiently on the porch. I opened the door to let him in. He smiled at me and stepped through the door. I had never noticed before how tall Keegan was. He was at least a foot taller than me. I hated it when people were way taller than me. It made me feel really short. It didn't exactly make me feel very comfortable.

"Hey, Aurora. How are you feeling?"

"Much better than yesterday, obviously. But better all the same."

"That's good. I'm glad you're okay. I have to admit, you had me worried there for a while."

I just stared at him, not saying anything.

"Your said that you had something that you wanted to tell me?" he said/

"Oh," I said, coming out of a daze that I had apparently drifted into, "Right."

I sat down on the couch and he sat down next to me. I angled my body so that I was somewhat facing him and began to talk. I started out by telling him about what had happened after Moris had taken me back to the small clearing in front of the cave, and ended with my suspicions about Victoria. He sat through the whole thing without a single interruption, just listening to everything that I had to say.

"Wow," was all he said when I finished.

"Yeah, I know," I replied.

There was silence for a while. Then there was knock at the door.

As I got up to answer it, Keegan grabbed my arm and got up to get it instead. When he got to the door, he reached for the door knob slowly, timing it precisely so that he had just enough time to take a look at who was there and reaction time to defend himself against the man who stood at my door. He wore a mask over his face so I couldn't see who he was, but I knew that it was the same guy that had attacked me the previous night. I ran toward the kitchen, shut the door, and ran for the armory to see if there was anything I could use to defend myself if he came in after me.

I burst through the door to the armory and scanned the walls, looking at all the swords and knives and other weapons that I had no idea what they did. I ran over to one of the walls that were filled almost completely with arrows and bows. I had taken a class in archery when I was in seventh grade and still remembered a little bit of what I had learned. I grabbed one that looked about the same size as the ones I had used back home. I also grabbed some arrows and put them in a quiver, slinging it over my back. I knocked one of the arrows on my bow and slowly advanced toward the door. I placed my ear against it, trying desperately to hear if anyone was on the other side over the loud pounding of my heart in my head. No noise seemed to come from the other side, so I slowly eased the door open. Unfortunately, our unwanted guest stood by the door I had come through to get from the kitchen to the armory, calmly leaning against the door frame. Preparing to fire my arrow, I squared my shoulders and aimed at his torso so as to injure him instead of killing him. He reached his hand up to his face and I tightened my grip on the bow and arrow. But all he did was remove his mask. I gasped when I saw who it was. It was Erik, the vampire who had taken me to this dimension in the first place. He laughed at the look on my face, the sudden action and movements making me pull back tighter on the string. He put his hands up in a surrendering gesture, but I didn't lower my arrow. He took a step forward and I almost let the arrow fly, but decided not to because he hadn't yet threatened me. I knew that I 

was no match for a vampire anyway so what was the point of even trying to defend myself? So I lowered my arrow, but still kept it gripped in my hands.

"Now that's safer, isn't it?" he asked calmly.

"Not really due to the fact that this wouldn't be a fair fight anyway, would it?" I retorted.

"Yes, that's true, isn't it? I suppose that could be true, couldn't it. Yes, it would," he answered, half to himself, half to me.

"So, what do you want anyway? Why did you come here? You're not exactly welcome. No vampire is right now."

"Why?" he asked.

"As if you didn't already know. I was attacked yesterday by either two werewolves or a vampire and a werewolf. I was hit with an arrow covered in vampire venom and then dragged into the forest by a werewolf where I was knocked nearly unconscious. Does that answer you question?"

"Yes, that does. I can see why a vampire wouldn't be exactly welcome here," he mused.

"Yah think?" I answered.

"But I had nothing to do with that. I swear," he said.

"Sorry, but I can't trust anyone but my friends right now and so far you aren't exactly my friend."

"Oh, but I see no reason why I shouldn't be."

"I see no reason why you should be either," I answered.

"True. Very true," he said.

"You're evading my question, Mr. Fladel. Why are you here?"

"On official business. Actually, I was just checking to see if they had gotten to you yet. You see, I'm not exactly supposed to be here. I snuck away from their security to check on you."

"Well, you've checked on me, now leave," I said, pointing to the door.

"I'm sorry, Aurora, but I can't leave just yet. There is something that you need to know."

"And that would be?"

"Where is the stuff that you found in the cave?"

"I don't know. Keegan and everyone hid it somewhere before I got back from the cave. They haven't yet told me where they put them. Why?"

"There is something that I need to show you before I can leave."

I nodded and ran past him to go and see where Keegan was. I had to ask him where he put them. I found him sitting down on the couch where we had been just before Erik had come.

"Keegan, where did you put the stuff that I found in the cave?" I asked. He didn't answer me.

I turned back to find Eric standing right behind me.

"What did you do?" I asked him.

"Simply put him in a trance to keep him quiet," he answered.

"Well, undo the dang trance! I need to talk to him," I somewhat screamed at Eric.

He closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate for a second. About three seconds later, he opened his eyes again and looked at Keegan. I turned to look at Keegan, too. A sudden shudder passed though him and he suddenly turned around and looked at me. Something was wrong. His expression, the look in his eyes . . . It just wasn't right. I turned around and looked at Eric. Something was wrong there, too, and he was laughing at me. Vampire laughing maniacally BAD. Something was definitely going on here and it wasn't for the better.

I tried to run to the other side of the room, but within seconds he was behind me and had my arms locked in a stone-hard grip behind my back. It had all been a trap. I had let my guard down, the biggest mistake that I had made so far.

"Thought you could get away, did you? Well, big mistake. That's not going to happen," Eric said.

But it wasn't his voice that I heard. It was someone else. It was deep and threatening. It didn't belong to Eric. It had to be someone else.

"W-w-who a-a-are y-you?" I asked, trying to make my voice sound like I wasn't afraid, to keep it from shaking, but, of course, things weren't going to go my way.

The creature was silent for a long time. I thought, for a while, that he wasn't going to answer me. But he did, and now I wish he hadn't. He spun me around and slammed me against the wall, hard, making all the picture frames shake. One of them, the one closest to me, fell off and shattered at my feet. I looked down to see which one it had been, and gasped when I saw. It was the one that I had been looking at before. The glass had splintered all over the floor and I hoped that none of the pictures had been damaged. I was jerked to the side, forcing me to look up into the face of my attacker.

I had never seen the man before, yet, somehow, I knew that I had had an encounter with him before. Then it hit me, well, more like he told me.

"Remember me? No? Well, what a shame. Guess I'll have to show you then," he said and right there, before my eyes, he shifted into the form of a wolf. But it wasn't just any wolf; it was the wolf that had attacked me in the forest; the one that had almost killed me.

_"Now do you remember?"_ he asked me, his voice clear in my mind. "_Do you? I remember you."_

"What do you want?" I asked out loud, though I knew that he would have heard me even if I had thought it in my mind.

_"What do I want? I want whatever Emily wants.__ I do what she tells me to, when she tells me to. Do you know who the archer was that shot the arrow that hit you?"_ he asked me, pushing hard on the spot where it had hit me. I cried out in pain for the spot still had not healed. He laughed once more.

I nodded, for I knew where this was going. But I said it out loud just to hear the words.

"It was Emily. Emily is plotting against me," I said and mentally kicked myself for not realizing it sooner.

After I said that out loud, time just seemed to freeze. But my mind stayed alert, so I thought about it for a second. I think I had known it all along, what Emily had been doing. But we had been best friends for so long that I just kept denying the fact that she was plotting, hoping that it would go away. But it didn't, and it won't. I guess I would just have to face the truth: my best friend, now my _ex_-best friend, is trying to kill me.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N this is the big CHAPTER 11! now i know you may ask why chapter 11 is such a big deal. or maybe not. but for those of you who are, just read on and find out! R&R. thanks, Dawn (VLG)**

I had to get out of there and fast. I struggled to get out of his grip but I hadn't the strength. He laughed again at my pointless efforts and pulled my arms back even tighter. I screamed again right before I blacked out.

I woke up what seemed like only minutes later. I opened my eyes expecting to see the front room of the house, but instead finding myself strapped down on a platform in the middle of an unfamiliar room that I had never been in before. Everything in it was gray; the walls, the ceiling, the floor. Not one surface had even a spot of color.

I lifted my head up as far as I could to get a better look at my surroundings, and myself. The room had four walls, but no ceiling. I must have been out for a while because the sky was dark and you could see all the stars and a full moon shone bright in the center of the sky. I lay strapped to a platform in the middle of the room. The platform and the straps were the only things that were not grey, though they weren't very far from it. The table looked to be made of some sort of black granite while the straps that bound my legs, body, and wrists were white. There were no doors in the room which made me wonder how I had gotten in here but there was no time to ponder that question for in the corner of the room, slumped against the wall on the floor, was Keegan, who was still unconscious and bound as well, though not on a table.

"Keegan!" I called.

"Shut it, princess," someone behind me said.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Didn't I just say 'shut it'?" the voice asked.

Just then, a searing pain erupted in my head, making me cry out before I could stop and think of who might hear. The person burst into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Who. Are. You," I forced out through clenched teeth as I tried the think despite the pain.

But it only grew worse.  
"I'm only going to ask you one more time. Shut up."

The pain was almost unbearable now. I tightly shut my mouth, practically silently begging for the pain to stop.

"Are you going to talk anymore?" she asked. I was sure the person was a girl now. It was too high pitched to be a guy.

I shook my head, silently giving in. I couldn't help but think that the voice somehow sounded familiar.

"Good," the girl replied. She walked up from behind me to where I could see her. Then, realization hit me. I had been right about knowing the voice. I knew it as soon as I looked at the face of the girl who had been speaking to me.

"Luna?" I asked, too surprised to remember that I wasn't supposed to be talking. Sure enough, the pain made itself known, this time in my right shoulder.

"Hello, big sister," she replied.

**Alright. If you guys want to read more of my story, im going to need you to send in some more reviews. If you don't I'm not going to write anymore to post. So the button is right here so click on it and send in reviews. And if i get enough, the rest of the story will be plenty good. I'm also writing an alternate beginning so if you want to know what it is, you need to post reviews. Thanks!**


	13. Just To Let You Know

**Hey everybody! This is just a note to tell you no, you're not going crazy. I just added some stuff to the beginning. I basically rewrote it. I think it came out really good. But read it and let me know. Thanks and keep reviewing! I need more or else I won't be posting anything more.**


	14. Chapter 12

I started to speak again, but she held up a hand silencing me. So many questions flooded through my mind. What was she doing here? How did she get here in the first place? Why was she here? How was she hurting me?

"Go ahead," Luna said.

"What?" I asked.

"What do you mean 'what'? I can see it in your eyes. You want to ask your questions so go ahead and ask."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said. "Now ask before I change my mind."

I relayed my questions to her.

"Are you quite finished now?" she asked.

"For now. I'll probably come up with some more later."

"Well, I can only answer some of those. Unfortunately, for you, I'm not at liberty to answer all of them.

"The first one I can't answer. But you'll find out later. I got here the same way you did. I can't tell you why I'm here but you'll find that out later as well. And last but not least, I'm not actually hurting you. It's just the illusion of it in your mind. Does that answer some of you questions?"

"Yeah, for now," I answered.

Just then, everything went quiet except for a quiet rustling in the trees. Luna suddenly dropped to one knee and bowed her head. Something or someone was coming and I had a feeling I wasn't going to like it.

I closed my eyes, heightening my hearing and listened closely to my surroundings. That, paired with my werewolf hearing, made it easy to pick up on just about any sound, no matter how small. I could hear Luna's quick breathing and her fast heartbeat. I could hear the light breeze that floated through the trees surrounding the small room. But most importantly, I could hear a creature flying fast towards us from the east.

As I lay on the platform, I waited for whoever it was that was coming, to arrive. Then she did, or rather, they.

"Emily," I said, my voice flat.

"Emily? Who are you talking to?" asked Luna.

"She is talking to me, Luna," Emily stated.

"But you said you name was-"

"Rose," she finished. "I know. But I couldn't tell you my real name until I knew that I could trust you. But I guess it's a little too late to find that out now, isn't it?"

Luna grimaced. Emily turned to face me again. I smiled sarcastically and she smiled back. But before Emily could begin talking I closed my eyes and began to speak myself.

"Luna?" I asked.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Do you know what you've done?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused now.

"By tying my up here do you know what you've done?" I clarified.

She didn't answer.

"You've just made it that much easier for Emily to finish what she started."

She stared at me, clearly not understanding. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Emily wants to kill me, Luna."

I heard her gasp in horror.

"Now do you see what you've done?"

"No," she said in defiance. "I don't believe it. I can't. I won't."

"Luna, you have to. Why would I lie about something this serious?

"Don't listen to her, Luna. She just wants to get out of here with her boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," I mumbled.

"Whatever," was Emily's big comeback.

"Luna, look at me," I said, for she had looked away and closed her eyes. She opened them again and stared at me. "Luna, I'm not lying. You should know that. If you don't believe me, look me in the eyes and tell me that."

Luna only stared. Then she ran from the corner of the room where she was standing to the table where I lay helpless. She threw her arms around me and started crying.

"What have I done?" she whispered in my ear, so low that I doubt Emily heard it.

"I'll help get you out of this," she said, equally as quiet, and said nothing else.


	15. Chapter 13

"Okay. Happy sappy time over. We have work to do," Emily said interrupting us.

Luna stood up and backed away from me, wiping the tears from her eyes.

I turned my attention to Emily as she walked over to me.

"Rien ne peut vous sauver. Pas égalisez votre petite soeur," she said, in the perfect French that we had learned only a year ago.

"Pourquoi faites-vous ceci ? I asked, slipping easily into French as well, even though I hadn't spoken it for a while.

"En raison de ce que vous avez fait à moi. Je ne peux pas le changer maintenant. Il est trop tard," she said.

"Please," I said.

"Appréciez-toi de derniers moments, l'aurore," she said as she pulled a sword, no, my sword, out from under the table that I lay strapped to.

"Je suis désolé," I said, and closed my eyes.

I waited, for I had a pretty good idea as to what was going to happen next. But nothing came. I opened my eyes and stared at what I saw in front of me. Emily stood where she had before I had closed my eyes, but there was a look of shock across her face. Her eyes had gone wide and her pupils had grown small. Then, she suddenly fell backwards onto the floor, revealing a small girl that stood behind her holding a small dagger in her hand. I had seen her land when Emily had arrived but I hadn't paid much attention to her. She had black hair that came down to her knees and was braided and tied at the end. Her eyes were the same color violet as mine. The dagger she held looked familiar. It looked like the same one that I had found in the cave; the one that had belonged to my mother.

I stared down on the ground at Emily wondering if she was dead.

"She's not."

I looked up. "What?"

"She's not dead." It was the girl with the black hair.

"Oh," was my brilliant answer.

We stared at each other for a little while longer before she slowly started walking towards me. I flinched away when she touched the straps that held me to the platform. But when she took them off, I relaxed.

When they were finally undone I sat up and swung my legs over the edge so that I could hop off. As soon as my feet touched the ground Luna came running over to me. The other girl backed off to the 

opposite corner where Keegan lay, still asleep. She seemed to mumble something under her breath and Keegan opened his eyes.

Luna released me from her grip around my waist and I walked over the where the girl was just standing up and Keegan began to wake up from his long slumber.

"Thank you," I said.

She stared at me.

"Don't mention it," she answered.

"If you don't mind me asking-"

"I don't mind at all," she interrupted.

"Who are you?" I finished.

"I am Lilith Anareta, the Dark Destroyer."

She gave a slight nod and Luna and I returned the gesture.

"Why did you save me back there?" I asked.

"Because that's what I was here to do," she replied.

"Then why did you arrive with Emily?"

"Because that was the only way to get in here without being suspected of anything."

"I understand," I said.

"Well, I think we best get out of here," Luna pointed out.

"Yes," I agreed. I turned around to pick up Emily's unconscious body, but it was already in the hands of Lilith.

"Are you sure you don't want help with that?" I asked.

"No. I could carry all four of you back if I wanted to."

"Keegan?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you think you can fly home with us?" I asked.

"Yeah. I think so."

He stood up and opened his wings, flapped them a few times and took off into the air. We all followed him a few seconds later.

"Lead the way," I said to Lilith, for I had no idea where we were.


	16. Chapter 14

After Lilith, Luna, and I flew away, we headed back towards the town. But instead of flying straight to town, we landed in a clearing miles from the town limits. Lilith went to land and Luna and I followed.

"Why are we-" I began to ask, but stopped. As I looked around I recognized where we were. It was the clearing that I had been attacked last time.

"Luna, get out of here," I said urgently.

"Why?" she asked.

"Don't ask, just do," I said. She could hear the fright in my voice and could probably see it on my face.

With that, she flew off, just as Lilith rose into the air, giving the signal that the battle was about to begin.

All of a sudden, out of the trees, burst an army of at least one hundred wolves. The following events happened so fast they were almost impossible to follow.

_Keegan, if you can hear me, gather an army of as many as you can, but quickly, and come to the clearing. Hurry. I don't know how long I can hold them off._

"On it," came the reply.

"Luna? Find Keegan and help him gather up an army. We haven't got much time.

"Got it," she said.

There was nothing else I could do for now other than keep myself from being turned into wolf chow until Keegan, Luna, and the others arrived; if they arrived at all.

Luna

"Keegan!" I yelled as I flew over him in town.

He looked up at me.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?"

I landed in front of him, allowing him a closer look at me.

"Luna?" he asked.

"Yes. Now don't we have a job to do?" I reminded him. "I'd prefer my sister not be turned into dog food. No offence or anything. I just meant-"

"None taken. I fully agree with you. Now, let's get back to work here, shall we?" he asked.

"Yes, we should. I'll take the north and east sections of the town. You take the south and the west," I suggested.

"Alright," he said, and ran off towards the south end of the town as I headed north.

I could hear Keegan's called of "Everyone! Meet in the town square in three minutes!" and other things along those lines. I ran north, slowly curving east, shouting out things that were similar, if not the same, and Keegan.

Five minutes later, everyone was gathered in the square with Keegan and I standing in the center on a small platform. There was an undercurrent of mumbling as people wondered what was going on.

"Quiet! Please!" Keegan shouted, and all traces of chatter ceased abruptly. Everyone stared at us in silence as Keegan stepped off the platform, leaving me to give the announcement. I took a deep breath and began.

"I need you all to listen, and listen well because I only have time to say this once." I paused to look at Keegan who gave an encouraging nod, so I continued.

"We have a slight emergency on our hands here. Well, actually, it's a big emergency. Everyone capable of fighting, arm yourselves with everything you need to fight about one hundred and fifty, if not two hundred, wolves. Aurora Vydia had been ambushed.

Everyone gasped. Then one person spoke up.

"How do we know you're telling us the truth?" he asked. Everyone began murmuring amongst themselves about the man who had spoken.

"What is your name, sir?" I asked.

"Amaury Shaderaven," he said, proudly.

"Well, Amaury, You should believe me for two reasons. One, I've been sent here on direct orders from Aurora to bring help before she becomes a chew toy. And two, I'm her sister and would prefer that she live."

That got him, and everyone else. But what happened next made no sense to me what-so-ever. After I told them I was Aurora's sister, they all got down on one knee and bowed to me, even Keegan.

"Please forgive me, miss, for ever doubting the truth of your words," Amaury said.

"Your apology is accepted, Amaury," I said, and then, turning to Keegan, "What is going on here?"


	17. Chapter 15

"You're Aurora's sister."

"Yeah. So?"

"She hasn't told you yet?" he asked, apparently surprised at the fact that I was oblivious to something.

"Told me what?" This was getting annoying and confusing.

"She's royal," he said simply as if it were common knowledge.

"Oh," I said, trying to shrug it off. Then I turned back to face everyone else. "Now everyone, like I said before, prepare for a battle and meet back here in five minutes. Go!" I said and within ten seconds the whole square was empty but for Keegan and myself. I turned to him.

"Ready?" I asked.

"I guess," he answered.

"Uh, Keegan?" I began.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up from the ground to gaze at me.

"How am I supposed to fight?" I asked.

"You don't."

"What do you mean, I don't?" I asked.

"You're fifteen and, on top of that, you're royal, not to mention that you're a girl," he explained.

I was appalled at this.

"Keegan, you're just a year older than me. And this is my sister we're talking about here. I don't care if I'm fifteen or if I'm royal, or that I'm a girl. Those are no reason for me not to fight to save my sister. I will not stand by and watch her die." I turned away from him and stormed out of the square.

As I walked down one of the streets of the town, I spotted Amaury. I ran up to him. He bowed as I approached.

"Dude, you really need to stop doing that," I said.

He straightened up.

"Amaury, is there an armory somewhere around here?" I asked. If Keegan wasn't going to give me the weapons I was going to get them myself.

"Yeah. There's one in the old Vydia house. I can take you there if you'd like."

"Yeah. That would be great," I said.

It's not far. Follow me."

When we arrived at the house, Amaury grabbed the spare key from the potted plant next to the door and unlocked it. The living room was amazing, but I didn't have time to stand and gawk at it.

"The armory is through the kitchen to the left," he instructed.

I followed his directions and opened the door to reveal a full armory complete with every weapon I could think of and many that I could place no name to.

I scanned the walls and counter-tops until I found what I needed. I grabbed each as fast as I could. First I grabbed a hickory bow, then a sassafras wood quiver, and about thirty hickory arrows.

When I had grabbed everything that I needed, I ran back through the kitchen, grabbed an apple from the counter, and ran into the living room where Amaury waited.

"Got it all?" he asked.

"Yeah; now, you need to get back to the town. I have to go help my sister in the clearing. Tell Keegan I said you can take my place leading the army into battle," I instructed.

He nodded his head, but just as he turned to walk back out the door to head back to the town, he closed the space between us, gently placing his lips on mine. He put his hand on my lower back, pulling me closer. The kiss must have only lasted a few seconds but it seemed like forever. When he finally let go, we both pulled back, gasping for air. Without a word, he ran out the door and headed back towards the town while I stood there speechless, staring out the way he had gone.


	18. Chapter 16

I shook my head and ran out the door myself, but instead heading towards the clearing.

As I finally flew over the clearing, I could see the scene below and it was not good. Aurora was surrounded in the middle of the clearing but about one hundred and fifty werewolves; just as I had thought. One would occasionally jump out and pounce on her, but otherwise, they just circled.

I took a deep breath and pulled out my bow, knocking an arrow and aiming it at the werewolf closest to Aurora.

"Actionnez cette flèche pour tuer," I mumbled under my breath, and the arrow glowed bright blue. I drew it back and prepared to fire. With one more deep breath I let the arrow fly.

With unnerving precision it hit the target right as it leaped into the air to attack. It fell to the ground seconds later, dead. Then all hell broke loose. Wolves were rushing in from all sides, jumping at Aurora, but also morphing back into humans and flying into the air to attack me. I could see the army rushing in from the north so I didn't have to hold them off for very long.

I knocked another arrow, and another, muttering the same incantation as before under my breath each time; aiming carefully and never missing, they fell out of the sky as my arrows pierced their skin.

The townspeople rushed in from all sides, brandishing their swords as they did. I noticed something though. It seemed like only half of the army we had put together was in the clearing. Where was the other half? And then I saw. Werewolves were falling, dead, when no one was around them. I scanned the surrounding trees and noticed that the other half stood under the cover of the trees, shooting arrows at our opponents. If we held up like this we might actually have a shot at winning this.

More and more of us fell as we fought on. Their numbers were decreasing rapidly. They had nowhere they could run for we had the whole clearing surrounded.

As the battle raged on more and more returned to their human form to fight me. I only had about twenty arrows left in my quiver and I couldn't afford to let my guard down to retrieve my arrows. I could only hold them off for a short while longer.

One, a man with short black hair, silver eyes, grey wings, and a long dagger, flew up to me. As he neared, and I knocked my arrow, his eyes went wide. He arched his back, screamed a silence scream, and fell to the ground.

When he hit the ground a short second later I turned my attention to my savior. My eyes went wide and my jaw dropped for it was Amaury who hovered before me.

"Amaury?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

I stared at him. He had no weapon on him that I could see. He didn't even have the sword that I had given him earlier.

"How did you-" I began, but he held up a hand and muttered something under his breath so fast that I didn't catch it. But then the strangest thing happened. The noise from the fight below ceased. Actually, all noise ceased. I looked around me only to see that time had stopped. Everything had frozen completely.

"What did you just do?" I asked.

"Froze time. There's a slight chance we won't win this. If you look closely below us we've cut their forces in half, but we're losing people as well. I'm just trying to make sure we don't lose any more."

"And how are you going to do that?" I asked.

"I won't. You will," he said.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

He pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"Just recite this incantation and think only of your sister and army that we're fighting. Hopefully this little spell I put together will destroy the rest of them."

"You made this spell yourself?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Have you ever tried it out to check and see if it works?"

"No. Unfortunately I'm not an enchanter so I can't create the magic needed to power the incantations. But we're just going to have to trust that this works because I can't hold this freeze up for very much longer."

I thought about the spell for a few more seconds and then Amaury spoke again, urgent this time.

"Luna, we only have so much time left. I'm losing my grip on this freeze. So are you going to try it or not?" he asked.


	19. Chapter 17

"Have you ever tried it out to check and see if it works?"

"No. Unfortunately I'm not an enchanter so I can't create the magic needed to power the incantations. But we're just going to have to trust that this works because I can't hold this freeze up for very much longer."

I thought about the spell for a few more seconds and then Amaury spoke again, urgent this time.

"Luna, we only have so much time left. I'm losing my grip on this freeze. So are you going to try it or not?" he asked.

"Well, I don't seem to have a choice in the matter so here goes nothing," I said, and, looking at the scrap of paper, I read aloud,

"_I tempi sono difficili, soprattutto adesso  
Il nemico deve essere distrutta.  
Il tempo è breve, non è molto di sinistra  
Prendi i nostri nemici, prima che sia troppo tardi"_

I glanced down at the frozen battle below just before Amaury released the freeze. There was a silent boom as shock waves were released from the center of the clearing and every werewolf we were fighting suddenly fell to the ground, lifeless. Everyone from the town stared around themselves at the slaughtered werewolves that surrounded them in the clearing. I turned back to face Amaury but the sky was clear of everyone but me.

"Amaury?" I called into the emptiness.

No reply reached my ears. I slowly descended to the ground to explain to the rest of the town what had just occurred.

When I reached the ground everyone that had come to fight at emerged from the forest and was standing in the middle of the clearing muttering about what had just occurred here.

"Everyone! Quiet, please. I'll explain everything in a minute if you'll all please quiet down."

Everyone abruptly went still.

"Thank you," I said. "What just happened was more than a little confusing, I know. But you'll have to be patient and bear with me as I try to figure it out myself."

Immediately the talking started up again.

"She just said be quiet!" I heard a voice say, turning around to see Amaury coming up behind me.

They all continued to talk, completely ignoring him. I glanced around the clearing searching for my sister. She was nowhere to be found. Where could she be?


	20. Chapter 18

Aurora

As I stumbled through the woods I thought of my sister and where she could be, what she could be doing. I hoped she wasn't hurt. I hoped everyone was alright and that no harm had come to any of them. But that was a pointless hope. Many had been injured during that fight and many had been lost. But there was nothing I could do to stop that now. What's done is done and there was nothing in my power to change it. The most I could do was find somewhere to curl up and heal and then get back to the town and clear up this whole mess; if I could.

Keegan

"Luna!" I yelled.

"Yes?" she asked, panic in her voice and eyes.

"You've noticed, haven't you?" I asked.

"Aurora's absence? Yeah, I have."

"Where do you think she could be?" I asked.

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

I didn't know what she meant by that, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to. I was curious but I was staying out of it. If the cause of us winning was her I wasn't going to object.

Luna

I grabbed Amaury by the arm and ran in the direction of the forest.

"Where are we going?" he called as we ran.

"We're going to the tower. We might be able to find her if we try hard enough so I thought the best place to start would be the tower."

"Well, then why are you taking me with you?"

"Because one, you might be able to put something together to help us find her, and two, after today's battle, I am not staying in that house alone."

Aurora

As I limped through the forest I looked for a place to rest and heal before I could continue on my way back to Caliga. I had to see my parents again, to tell them that I was leaving. They had to know that Luna was going to stay with me. I would normally have not allowed it, but she had proved to me that she could handle herself and I would be here to watch over here. And with her newly discovered necromancer abilities, she had to stay here where her mentor was. I just couldn't unleash her untaught upon our parents. They could never know the truth. They wouldn't know how long we really were gone for, but we would come back from time to time, just to check up on everybody. We would never be able to talk to our family and friends again, because to us, it would seem like years, whereas to them, it would seem like only a few days. It would take a very long time for us to be able to make contact with them again.

I found a large tree that had rotted and been hollowed out to create a space large enough for me to walk into and lie down. There was a bed of leaves settled over the ground so I wasn't sleeping completely on dirt and rocks. I slowly walked in, padded around in a few circles, and settled down to rest for the night.

When I woke up, the sun was just beginning to rise, and most of the sky was still dark. I slowly got up, making sure that all of my injuries were fully healed. When I was one hundred percent sure everything was back to full health, I walked out of the tree and headed out to find something to eat. Or, at least, I was going to. But, of course, I can't be gone for one night without someone trying to find me.

_Aurora!_


	21. Chapter 19

Someone was looking for me. Had I expected anything different of them? Not really.

_What do you want?_ I asked.

_Aurora?_ The voice asked.

_Who else would it be?_

_Are you okay?_

_If I wasn't, would I tell you?_

_No, probably not. But you're obviously alive. That's good, at least._

I was silent.

_Where are you?_

_Like I'm going to tell you,_ I mumbled, and changed back to human, cutting myself off from anyone else interfering with my hunting. Luckily, when I had changed to wolf, I had had my clothes on, so I was wearing something. I hunted around the ground surrounding the trees in search of a long stick and a sharp rock. When I found what I was looking for, I sat down on a larger rock and proceeded to strip the stick into something that would serve as a temporary bow. Then I shredded part of what was left of my clothes to supplement the string. It was strong enough, and I didn't have anything else that would work as a string. Then I found some smaller sticks and stones and some feathers, and set about making some arrows. When everything was put together, I took off my shoes and set off to go hunt. My scent would be masked by the scent of the forest from sleeping in the tree, so it shouldn't matter whether I'm upwind or downwind, though I should still be careful about it.

The first prey I shot was a small rabbit, but it had plenty of meat on it. I didn't want to have too much meat, but I needed some new clothes, so the bigger the animal, the better. At last I found a deer, which I quickly shot and tied up. I tied the rabbit to the deer and began to make my way in the direction from which I heard the sounds of running water.

I sat next to the fire I had started, cleaning the skins of the rabbit and deer, preparing them to make into clothes. I sharpened one of the more sturdy rabbit bones to use as a needle, and stretched out the sinew to uses as thread. When it was clean, I grabbed one of my arrowheads and began to cut the skin into pieces that I could sew together into clothes. I set some pieces aside to make into a pouch that I could put the extra meat in, just in case I happened to find some other use for it along my journey to Caliga. When all the skins had been carefully laid out, I set to work on sewing them together. After all that was finished, I packed all the leftover meat in the sack, slipped on the makeshift clothes, and, swinging the sack over my shoulder along with the bow, I picked up the arrows, put out my small fire, and began to make my way toward the gates leading back to Earth.


	22. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: for those of you who have been reading this story from the very beginning, I thank you ever so much and I hope you enjoyed it. I know this sounds like it's a "goodbye. this is the end" note, and it might be. But then again, it might not. I think i still have a few loose ends to tie up, so you might actually be hear more from me, and you might even be reading some more of this story. Well, I hope you like(d) Crossbreeds. Happy reading! R&R!**

When I emerged from the forests and into the town that surrounded the gates of Caliga, it was dark and the moon was high above my head. The stars dotted the sky like sparkles, and the small town was buzzing with life. I began to make my way through the crowds of people, keeping my head down, lest anyone remember my face from the night of Vanequia. I couldn't allow that to happen. If anyone _did_ recognize me, it would mean my death.

"Aurora!" a voice called to me.

I thought for a second, trying to place the voice with a face. Then, just as someone put their hand on my shoulder, it came to me.

_Oh, no,_ I thought. _Why did he have to spot me now? And why did he have to yell out my name? Does no one understand the importance of keeping a low profile? Or is it all just _"Hey, look at me! I'm supposed to be a vampire but I'm not!" _around here? I can't allow anyone to know I'm here._

But I couldn't just ignore him. That would be kind of rude after he helped me escape.

"Erik?" I asked.

"Aurora!" he said joyfully and then hugged me. "How are you? What happened?"

"Nothing much happened, actually. We just found out that I'm royal, found my mothers' and grandmothers' treasures, and got in a huge fight with a bunch of other werewolves. Oh, and we also found out that I'm a werewolf by blood, and that getting hit in the back with an arrow that's tip is covered with venom has absolutely no effect on me," I said casually.

"Wow. That's a lot. Anything else?" he asked.

"Yeah. My sister is a necromancer."

"Again, wow. So, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your sister and your friends?"

"No. I ran off as soon as I was sure everyone was going to be okay. I slept out in the wood for a day just to heal, and then made my way here. I have to go back home to say goodbye to my family and what little friends are still there. Or at least just to see them one more time and make sure they're okay. I'll leave a note if I can, though," I explained.

Erik seemed to think about this for a little bit before nodding.

"I'm coming with you, then," he said in a tone that left me thinking that there was no way to change his mind. If I was going, he was going to come with me. And there was nothing I could do to stop him.

I nodded back.

"Alright. When can you leave?" I asked.

"Whenever you're ready," he said, leaving it up to me.

"I was hoping to leave today," I said.

"That's fine with me then. Are you ready to leave now?"

"Yes. Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

We both nodded. I motioned for him to lead and we began to make our way back to the gates of Caliga.


	23. Author's Note

**A/N: For those of you who have been reading this story since the very beginning, I thank you immensely. You have no idea how much that means to me. Now, if you read the author's note from the last chapter, I would like you to know that that will not be the end of the story. I have decided that there are some things that I would like to add to the story, so I will continue writing. Yay! Well, I was going through the manuscript I have on my computer, and decided to make some adjustments. I will up updating the rest of it very soon so that you all can see the new changes that I have made. (and for those of you who would like to know that translations of anything that is not in English, I will be adding the translations to the documents so that you know what it says.) I have had quite a lot of people PM me and ask what it said, so, for your own convenience, as well as mine, the translations will be given. Thank you again, for reading this story, and I hope you all check out some of my others as well. Read and Review. Thank you all, Katana Layla**


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